Flight
by princessjoey630
Summary: After fours years away from the team, Ziva returns to Washington, but this time she has someone else with her...Tiva. Rated T to be sure.
1. Prologue

A/N I'm baaaaaaaack!

Lol. Always wanted to do that.

So, this is my new fic. I've had it planned for a while, then today I went and wrote 11 chapters. Woot!! (doesn't mean I'll be posting them any quicker though. Sorry!)

Enjoy!!

* * *

Prologue

Ziva boarded the plane, clutching her bag and navigating her way to her seat.

She kept flashing back to the past month's events.

--

_The team assembled in the Director's office._

"_Officer David, the liaison position with NCIS is being terminated. You're going home," Vance said._

_Ziva cast a nervous sideways look at Gibbs, but even he looked as shocked as she was._

_McGee received his orders, before Vance turned to Tony._

"_You've been reassigned. Agent Afloat, USS Ronald Reagan. Pack your bags, you fly out tomorrow."_

That was the hardest thing to hear. How could she say goodbye in less than a day?

--

_That night, after everyone had managed to farewell everyone, which ended in Abby fleeing the room in tears, Ziva went to Tony's place._

_The brief hug they had shared was not enough to say goodbye. Not for them._

_Ziva knocked on the door, which opened almost immediately._

"_Ziva, what-"_

"_Can I come in?"_

_Tony backed away from the door to allow her entry._

_Inside the apartment was in shambles. Boxes were all around, a suitcase lay open on the couch, and the stereo was playing softly in the background._

"_So when do you leave?" Tony asked, sidestepping her and returning to his packing._

"_Two weeks. Lots of termination paperwork," she admitted, perching herself on the couch armrest._

_Tony didn't answer, focusing instead on his boxes._

"_Tony?"_

_He looked at her. "What?"_

"_Do you think we'll be together again?"_

_Even as the words left her mouth she felt stupid. This wasn't like her, showing worry to someone else, particularly someone of the opposite sex._

_But this was Tony. He was different._

"_I think we will," he answered._

"_Tony, I-"_

_Tony walked directly up to her and kissed her, on the mouth, wrapping his arms around her. "We will be together again," he murmured. "I promise."_

_He picked her up and carried her from the room._

_--_

_Ziva woke to the sound of someone walking around the room. She sat up, pushing the covers back slightly._

"_Tony-"_

"Shh, go back to sleep," he said.

_He was collecting his last-minute items._

_Ready to leave._

"_Tony-"_

He sat down on the edge of the bed and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

_And with that, he was gone._

--

Ziva shook her head slightly. He was gone. She hadn't heard from him since that morning. She'd been checking her phone and email obsessively, waiting for some sign of him.

Ziva sat down in her seat, putting her bag down and looking out the window.

After take-off, she put her hand on her stomach. "Well, Tateleh, it looks like it's just you and me."

* * *

A/N DUN DUN DUN!!

Please review! If you've read my other stories, you'll know that I only update when I have eight or more reviews. My record for a single chapter is 26 (I literally got up and danced when I got that many).

So...review review review!


	2. Chapter 1

A/N WOOT!!

So many reviews for the prologue!

I sincerely apologise for the slow update. Major computer freeze last night just as I was putting the finishing touches on the chapter.

For Elle, because of her name (she knows what I mean.)

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 1

_Four years later…_

"Lucinda!" Ziva exclaimed, showing her seriousness by using her full name as the toddler began playing with her seatbelt again. "Leave it done up."

Lucy screwed up her nose. "When're we gonna fly?"

"Soon," Ziva said patiently.

"Where's we goin'?"

"Washington."

"Why?"

Ziva thought for a moment. How could she explain to her daughter the real reason that they were flying from Australia to Washington? "Because I have work to do America."

"You said we were goin' to Washington."

"We are."

"Why are we goin' to Washington when you got work in America?"

Ziva smiled and placed a kiss on Lucy's chubby cheek. "You'll understand one day."

Lucy looked out the plane window, but got bored with the surroundings within seconds. "Who were those people at the airport?"

"People?" Ziva said absentmindedly.

"With the sunglasses."

Ziva focused on what the little girl was saying. "I don't know," she lied. "I don't know, my girl."

* * *

_On the other side of the world…_

Tony walked into the squadroom, once again thinking how much nicer it was to be walking on solid ground that on a rocking ship.

He owed it all to Gibbs. After a month of being deployed on the USS Ronald Reagan, Tony was back in Washington. McGee had been retransferred. Now all that was missing was Ziva.

Ziva. Just thinking about her made Tony shiver slightly. He hadn't seen her in four years. Hadn't heard from her in just as long.

Being in love with her was one thing. Being in love with her while she was virtually incommunicado was another.

"Morning," he said to McGee as he sat at his desk. He avoided looking at Ziva's once again empty area. Michelle had been there temporarily, but now she was gone as well.

What was with the women of NCIS leaving in one way or another?

"No case. Paperwork only," McGee said, not taking his eyes off of his screen. "Boss'll be back soon."

Tony found himself staring at Ziva's chair. _You're taken, DiNozzo,_ Tony said to himself. _And she's gone._

* * *

After a very long flight and hundreds of questions from Lucy, Ziva was very relieved to be back in Washington. She'd missed being there. She'd missed working there.

She'd missed the people there.

_He doesn't know about her,_ she reminded herself. _Remember to tell him._

Holding Lucy on one hip, Ziva waited for their bags to come round on the conveyor belt.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw them.

The same men from the airport in Australia.

Trying not to panic, she put Lucy on the ground. "Lucy," she said, making sure she had her full attention. "I want you to stay here. Hold on to my pocket." _If she's near the ground, they'll have a lesser chance of seeing her,_ she reassured herself.

Since becoming a mother, Ziva had changed. Instead of being constantly worried for her survival, she now had someone else to care for.

Picking up their bags, Ziva took Lucy's hand and led her quickly out of the terminal.

* * *

_In Israel…_

"They arrived?" he said into the phone.

"_Ten minutes ago."_

"Both of them?"

"_Saw them both, but lost the visual at the terminal. Look, Asa-"_

Asa interrupted him. "Yochanan, find them."

He hung up. He wasn't going to let one of his best officers leave Mossad. Not to return to America.

He turned to the man by the door. "Looks like your daughter is returning to NCIS."

"You don't know that," the man replied, trying not to show the plea in his voice.

"Eli, if she'd done what she was meant to, she wouldn't have a child and she wouldn't have gone to Australia."

"She went to Australia so she could escape us! She's too smart to get caught," Eli said.

Asa raised his eyebrows. "We'll see, Eli. We'll see."

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Lucy whined.

Ziva smiled at her. "Almost."

"Where're we goin' again?"

"First we're going to our new home."

"And then?"

"Shopping. We'll need food."

"And then?"

Ziva smiled at her. "Then I'll take you to NCIS."

"Yay!" Lucy exclaimed. "Mummy?"

"Yes?"

"What's NCIS?"

* * *

A/N Review review review! The more reviews I get, the faster I update!!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N HOW COOL WAS 'LAST MAN STANDING'!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

Okay, moving on...

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2

_The second day in Washington_

Ziva buckled Lucy into her seat. As usual, she resisted; she hated any type of restraint.

"Wanna be out!"

"I'm taking you to NCIS," Ziva said, knowing what Lucy's reaction would be.

"Yay!...Mummy, what's-"

"NCIS is the place where I used to work," Ziva said, closing the door and making her way round to the front seat.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they were in the elevator on their way up to the squadroom.

Lucy had her face buried in Ziva's shoulder. "Hate 'levators."

"Why?" Ziva asked.

"Falling. 'Levators can fall."

Ziva shook her head, smiling. Every day her daughter's thoughts of random things amused her.

She focused on the battle that was raging in her head.

_What are you going to tell them?_

_That I'm back in the country._

_What are you going to tell him?_

_That…that…something._

_See? You have no idea._

The doors opened.

Taking a deep breath, Ziva walked into the squadroom.

* * *

It was empty, completely void of people.

Ziva sighed with relief as she looked around. Everything was the same. The location of the team's office, the set up, even the direction that the computer screens were facing.

Gibbs' desk was covered in paper; a sign that there was either no case or a very complicated one.

McGee's desk was spick and span. "Clean freak," Ziva smirked.

Then she turned to Tony' desk.

Suddenly Ziva pictured him there, working, answering the phone with some sarcastic phrase, looking across at her at her desk…

"Mummy," Lucy said. "Mummy?"

Ziva looked at her and readjusted her on her hip. "What?"

"You're staring."

"Right. Sorry," Ziva said, changing her mind and putting Lucy on Tony's chair.

"Was this your desk?"

"No, it wasn't," Ziva said. "Now, I have to go to the Embassy. I'll be back in about an hour." She knew it was irresponsible as a mother to leave a four-year-old unattended, but she knew Tony and the others would be back soon. Their gear was behind their desks, so they weren't out in the field, and they were never at Ducky's or Abby's for more than ten minutes.

"What am I gonna do?" Lucy whined.

Ziva opened Tony's desk drawer and pulled out a notebook and pen. "Draw me a pretty picture."

"Of our house?" Lucy said, smiling. From the moment she and Ziva had entered their new home she had been skipping around, thrilled with their new surroundings.

"Yes, of our house," Ziva replied, kissing the top of her head. "You be a good girl."

"I will."

Ziva walked back to the elevator, breathing deeply. She wasn't looking forward to facing the team (i.e Tony) later.

* * *

"Come on, Boss. We have no case. We've done enough paperwork to last us all year. Can't we just go home?" Tony asked as they left the elevator. They'd been with Abby, using a visit with her as an excuse to not do more desk work.

"No, DiNozzo."

"Why?"

"Because as soon as we leave we'll get at least five calls for multiple murders," McGee said. He quite liked doing paperwork – he spent most of the time writing paragraphs for his next story.

"Great."

When they arrived at the squadroom, Tony stopped suddenly, sending Gibbs and McGee crashing into him.

"DiNozzo, what-"

Tony pointed.

A little girl was sitting at his desk, scribbling away.

"Any ideas?" Tony whispered to Gibbs.

"She's not yours?" McGee asked. Tony headslapped him.

"Where did she come from?"

Gibbs pushed Tony forward. "Your desk. Your problem." Normally, Gibbs would have been happy to deal with the situation, but ever he was bored with paperwork; he needed entertainment.

Tony walked forward slowly. "Hi…"

The little girl looked up at him. "Hello."

Tony looked back at Gibbs, desperate for help, but Gibbs just kept watching.

"I'm Tony," Tony tried, holding out his hand. "Who are you?"

"Lucy," she replied, turning back to her drawing.

"Okay…what're you doing at my desk?"

"Mummy told me to stay here until she gets back."

Tony scrutinized her for a moment. There was something familiar about her… "Where's your mummy?"

"At the emsy."

By now, Gibbs was now ready to intervene.

"Boss, what the hell is a-"

"I think she means 'embassy', DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

"Right."

"When is your mummy getting back?" Gibbs said, bending down to Lucy's level.

"About an hour," Lucy replied. She liked these people.

"So we'll wait for her," Gibbs said to Tony.

"Where am I gonna sit?" Tony said.

Gibbs shrugged.

* * *

Ziva arrived at the Embassy shortly after leaving NCIS, making sure no-one had followed her.

She walked up to the front desk. "Hi, I need to-"

The woman behind the desk pushed a button on the phone intercom. "She's here," she said.

Ziva looked down at the desk. There was a photo of her.  
"You know what? Never mind. I'll come back," she said quickly, backing out of the room.

She walked straight into a big man wearing sunglasses.

Now there were three of them, all advancing towards her. Desperately she looked around for help, but no-one was in the room.

They grabbed her and dragged her through the back to a car.

* * *

A/N Please review!

I have no idea how an Embassy works. I realise they probably don't have hitman teams inside them or anything, but go with the flow.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N Hi everyone!

Sorry for the kind of slow update.

I LOVE THE SCREENSHOTS FOR 6x02!! (I'm a little nutty today.)

For Elle, because she's already read the whole thing and because I'm trying to make her feel better about not being able to send her more (does that make sense??)

Oh, and for Cl, S, M & J: Just for the record, I am hiding from you guys.

Also, the A/N at the bottom has a bit of a spoiler. Just letting you know in case you haven't seen 6x01.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3

"Boss, it's been forty five minutes. What're we gonna do? What if the mother just dumped the kid here to abandon it?" Tony said.

"Tony, stop called Lucy 'it'. What's the problem with you?"

Tony looked over at the little girl, who was still drawing happily. "I don't know. She just seems…familiar."

Gibbs saw where this was going. "You think she's yours?"

Tony opened and closed his mouth a few times. "What? Me? Ha! No," he said clumsily.

* * *

Lucy was bored. She'd been sitting there for what seemed like hours.

She slid off the chair and ran around to the stairs. She remembered her Mum holding her around the waist and sliding down the banister once when they were in Australia.

Now she wanted to do it herself. She could show her Mum when she got back.

Carefully she began climbing the wire side barriers.

She lost her footing at fell. She screamed.

"Lucy!" she heard someone yell. Then everything went dark.

* * *

Ziva hung her head forward in an attempt to prevent anymore damage.

"Where is your child?" one of the men demanded.

Ziva refused to answer. Instead she focused on the binds holding her hands behind her back.

Another blow was administered to her shoulder. She winced, but still refused to speak.

She couldn't say anything. They'd go after Lucy.

"Where, Officer David?" The voice said again. She didn't know these people; she didn't recognize them.

This time she was hit in the ribs.

She looked up. "I won't tell you."

She saw one of the men about to hit her again.

"Yochanan, enough," said another voice. This one Ziva recognized.

Eli stepped forward into the room. "Gamiel, Asfiri, Yochanan, leave us."

"The Director ordered us to-"

"And I'm the Deputy Director. You follow my orders as well. Leave," Eli said forcefully.

Once they were gone, Eli turned back to Ziva. "You shouldn't have come here."

"Here, Aba? I didn't have a choice!" she replied as Eli released her hands.

"To the Embassy. To Washington."

"I had to come back."

"Why, Ziva? Why?" Eli said. On their flight back to Israel from Washington, after Ziva's termination, Eli had managed to redeem herself in her eyes. He had apologized to her, profusely, for his past mistakes.

"Why don't we talk about you. Why are you the Deputy Director of Mossad again?"

Eli grimaced slightly. "Because of you."

"Me?!"

"You returned to Israel as planned after your liaison termination was completed. Except after three months you disappeared."

"What does that have to do with you?" Ziva said, standing up and wiping the blood from her face.

"Because I'm your father, and rumours began circulating that I was covering you, trying to protect you from Mossad."

"But why would they think that?"

"Who knows? All I know is that after a month with you gone, everyone was saying that you were a traitor, and that you had abandoned Mossad."

"So they demoted you?"

"And Asa Nouri became Director."

"Asa? No!"

"Exactly."

Ziva twisted her fingers slightly. "I am sorry for leaving. Without saying anything."

"At least I found out why," Eli said. "You were expecting."

Ziva remembered that he didn't even know what gender his grandchild was. "Her name is Lucy," she said quietly.

Eli frowned. "Who's the father?"

Ziva looked away, remembering that night with Tony.

"The agent from your team?" Eli asked. "Anthony?"

"Tony," Ziva corrected, even though technically he wasn't wrong.

"You be careful, Ziva," Eli said as he led her from the room, supporting her slightly. He took her to the back entrance.

"You too, Aba," she said, before leaving as quickly as she could.

* * *

A/N Please review! I haven't been getting as many reviews as usual. I reviews!

I realised the whole 'inside the embassy' scene was kinda of stereotypical, but it's how I pictured it in my head.

I loved Ziva and Eli's relationship in Last Man Standing. Also Gibbs. How fantastic was he?! And the end scene where Ziva hugs everyone and Gibbs is just...(can't describe it.)

See? Told you I'm nutty.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N Seriously annoyed right now. I haven't gotten any emails from telling me about reviews or anything. I've spent the last two days constantly checking this site for updates and reviews.

Thanks to the 8 people who reviewed (just made it!)

* * *

Chapter 4

Tony sat on a chair next to the hospital bed, staring at the sleeping little girl.

_He looked over to the stairs to see Lucy falling. "Lucy!" he yelled. He ran over to her._

_She was unconscious._

"_Call 911!" Tony said to Gibbs, who was now standing next to him._

"Mr DiNozzo?" a nurse said from the door, bringing Tony out from his thoughts. "The mother…?"

"Still trying to locate her," Tony replied, even though they had no idea where to start searching.

The nurse left, leaving Tony to stare at Lucy again.

A gasp at the doorway distracted him.

* * *

_Half an hour earlier…_

Ziva took a taxi back to NCIS. She had managed to wipe off most of the blood, but she still looked like a mess.

She got to the squadroom and froze.

It was empty.

Thoughts rushed through her mind.

_They've got Lucy. She's not here. They've got her._

"Ziva?" a voice said fro behind her.

She turned to find Gibbs. "Gibbs!" she exclaimed, trying to hide her panic.

Gibbs didn't know what to say. He hadn't heard from, or even seen, Ziva in four years. "What're you doing here?"

"The little girl. She was here, at Tony's desk. Where is she?"

"Ziva-"

"WHERE IS SHE?" Ziva said, loosing it.

Gibbs grabbed her shoulders to keep her from moving. "She's at the hospital. She fell down the stairs. Tony's with her."

_Oh, God, Tony,_ she thought. "Is she…is she…"

"Ziva, sit down," Gibbs said, directing her to a chair. "What is going on?"

"Mossad is after me and Lucy, I left her here for a while, I went to the Embassy, they're after us," Ziva said hurriedly.

"Mossad?" Gibbs said. "Care to explain?"

"Three months after returned to Israel I left Mossad without telling anyone. Now they're looking for me because they think I'm a traitor."

"What does Lucy have to do with it?"

Ziva looked him in the eyes for a moment.

"Ah," he said.

"Which hospital?" she asked, standing up.

"Bethesda."

"Thank you, Gibbs," Ziva said before running back to the elevator, ignoring the pain from her wounds.

* * *

_In the present…_

"Ziva?" Tony said, blinking hard a few times, making sure he was seeing things clearly.

Ziva ran forward and put her arms around his neck. "Tony."

Tony still couldn't believe it. Four years of not seeing her and now she was here, in his arms. "What happened to you?"

Ziva let him go and looked down at herself. Maybe she should have changed her clothes. The blood on them was a little disturbing. "Long story."

Then she spotted Lucy.

"What…how…is she alright?" Ziva asked, sitting down on the chair Tony had pushed next to the bed and holding Lucy's hand.

"She's just sleeping. She's fine. Just a minor concussion. How did you know-"

"I went to NCIS. Gibbs explained." Ziva was worried. Should she tell Tony now or wait until later?

Tony pushed another chair up to the bed. After a moment, he spoke.

"She's yours, isn't she?"

Ziva looked at him, trying to read his expression. "How did you-"

"I knew she was familiar. Seeing you here with her…I just know."

"Tony, I-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony said. Ziva didn't know how to explain to him why she hadn't told him about his daughter.

She was about to begin when he spoke again.

"You could have written to me or something, letting me know how you are. That you had a daughter."

Now Ziva was really confused. He hadn't worked out that he was Lucy's father…

"Tony, I need to explain something to you," Ziva began.

"What?" Tony didn't mean to sound as aggravated as he did, but he couldn't help it.

Ziva let go of Lucy and turned to face Tony, taking his hands in her own. "You remember that night. The night I went to your apartment, the night before you left."

Tony looked wistful for a moment. Of course he remembered. "Yeah."

Ziva stared at him for a moment, hoping that he would work it out.

His eyes widened. "Ziva-"

"I am sorry that I didn't tell you. But by the time I found out that I was pregnant you were long gone. I was heading back to Israel. I just couldn't."

"Does Gibbs know?"

"Only that Lucy is my daughter. He has no idea about you."

Tony pulled his hand away and ran a hand over his face. "Oh, Ziva, this is not good."

"But now you know! You can get to know her!" Ziva explained.

"No, that's not the biggest problem, Ziva," Tony said, staring at Lucy's face.

"What is it?" Ziva said.

Tony took a deep breath. "I'm engaged."

* * *

A/N Please review!!

Kudos to the people that guessed about Tony's 'taken-ness'.

--

Everyone should read 'Broken' by xXriujooXx. It is a truly fantastic piece of writing.

/s/4564786/1/Broken

--


	6. Chapter 5

A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!

I'm bouncy today. I've been listening to the songs from 'Wicked' (if you ever have a chance to see it, do. It's fantastic.)

Lots of people didn't like Tony being engaged. It's like in one of my other fics where Ziva was engaged.

Makes for good reading though.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5

"E-engaged? What?" Ziva said. Surely she had heard incorrectly.

"I'm engaged," Tony repeated. Now he looked her in the eyes.

Ziva felt stupid. She still loved him. She was sure he would still love her as well.

She remembered that night…

"_Tony-"_

He sat down on the edge of the bed and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

_And with that, he was gone._

She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and was surprised to see the same thing happening to him. "Well…congratulations."

Tony didn't reply.

"So when did it happen?" Ziva asked, trying to sound happy for him.

"Last year."

"What's her name?"

"Anna."

Ziva smiled weakly. "Congratulations," she repeated.

"Ziva, I…" he began. "I never thought I would see you again. I know I promised we would, but then years passed and…and…"

"It's alright, Tony," Ziva said, taking his hands again. "It's not your fault. I should have told you about Lucinda."

"Lucinda?"

"Lucy's full name."

"Right."

They remained silent for a moment.

"What do we do now?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know. This has never happened to me before," Tony said.

Ziva smirked.

"I suppose I should tell Anna," Tony said slowly. He got up to leave.

"Tony," Ziva said suddenly.

"Yeah?" he said, pausing by the door.

"The morning after…when you were leaving…did you mean what you said?"

Tony gazed at her for a moment. "Yes…"

Then, as he walked down the corridor, he added two more words.

"…still do."

* * *

Tony arrived at his apartment an hour later, a bunch of flowers in his hand. It was a lame gesture, but he wanted to do something.

He unlocked the front door and went inside.

"I'm home!" he called.

"In here!" came a voice from the kitchen.

"Hi," Tony said, putting the flowers down on the bench and sitting down on a stool, watching Anna make dinner.

Anna was just younger than Tony, and had shoulder-length blonde hair that contrasted her green eyes.

Now that Tony thought about it, she was almost a complete opposite to Ziva.

"How was your day?" Anna asked, putting her spoon down and leaning on the bench.

Tony considered. "Confusing, actually."

"Well, you can tell me all about it while we eat,' Anna said brightly. Obviously, she had had a good day.

"Sure."

Tony went and had a quick shower before sitting down at the dinner table.

"So what was confusing?" Anna asked, spearing a piece of broccoli with her fork.

"You have to let me explain something," Tony said, not really knowing how to begin.

"Okay…" Anna said slowly.

"You remember me telling you about my-"

"Oh, I almost forgot. You have to call the wedding caterer later on. There was some issue they wanted to discuss with you," Anna interrupted suddenly.

Tony sighed. Anna had a habit of interrupting with some random comment. Usually he didn't mind, but this time is was different.

Anna noticed his expression and laughed. "Sorry, Tony. What did you want to explain?"

_I can't tell you about my daughter when you're thinking about wedding plans! _Tony thought furiously. "Nothing. I can tell you later."

* * *

After a night in hospital, Lucy was discharged. After a stern talking-to from Ziva about being careful, they were on their way to NCIS.

Gibbs, naturally, had told Abby that Ziva had stopped by. Abby was hysterical about Ziva not coming down to say hello, so that was today's mission.

Ziva walked into the squadroom to see Gibbs, Tony and McGee watching her.

"Afternoon Ziva, Lucy."

"Good afternoon," Ziva said, before nudging Lucy.

"Whoops. Hello!" she said loudly, making McGee snigger until Tony headslapped him.

"We're just on our way to see Abby," Ziva explained.

Gibbs walked up to her. "I need to talk to you later," he said into her ear.

Ziva nodded and continued walking to the elevator to take them to Abby's.

* * *

Abby looked up from her work when she heard voices in the corridor.

"Hate 'levators. Hate hate hate."

"Lucy, seriously, let go of my hand before you crush it."

"ZIVA!" Abby squealed as she walked through the door.

"Hi Abby," Ziva choked as Abby hugged her. "This is Lucy," she said once Abby had released her.

"Where?" Abby said, looking around.

Ziva looked down to see Lucy hiding behind her legs, clearly terrified of the Goth's appearance. "Give us a second, Abs," Ziva whispered.

Abby walked slowly to the ballistics lab.

"Lucy," Ziva said, crouching down to the girl's height.

Lucy had her eyes squeezed shut. "Is she gone?"

"Abby won't hurt you. Really. I don't think she is able to hurt people," Ziva said, deliberately not mentioning the time Abby had punched a guy in the face.

"But she's scary," Lucy said, opening her eyes a crack.

"If Abby does anything to hurt you, we will never come back here. How does that sound?" Ziva reasoned.

Lucy thought for a moment. "'Kay."

"Abby!" Ziva called.

Abby walked back into to room, but this time she wasn't wearing her spiked collar or wristbands. "Hi."

Ziva nudged Lucy again, who grimaced. "Hi Abby," she said finally.

"You like toys, Lucy?" Abby asked.

"Sure…"

Abby passed Bert to her.

Lucy hugged him, only to be shocked by the noise.

She looked at Ziva, horrified. "It wasn't me! I swear! Mummy, it wasn't me!"

Ziva and Abby laughed. "It was Bert. We know."

Lucy sat on the floor and continued squeezing the hippo. Except now, she laughed hysterically.

Abby pulled a chair up for Ziva. "I can't believe you're back!" she said.

"I can tell."

"Why didn't you call or something? You could have told me you had a daughter!"

"I know," Ziva said. "I didn't tell anybody. No-one knew until yesterday."

They spend over an hour talking until Ziva remembered Gibbs wanted to talk to her. "Abby, can you mind Lucy for a bit?"

"Sure. By the time you come back, she'll love me," Abby said.

* * *

A/N Please review!

The whole Lucy-having-a-fear-of-elevators is kind of based on myself. Thanks to a stupid recurring nightmare, I'm not particularly fond of them.

The next chapter will see Ziva and Gibbs discussing various aspects of Ziva's return and an appearance by Anna.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N Only 9 reviews...sad.

Updates might be a bit slow. I've hit a writing snag.

* * *

Chapter 6

Gibbs met Ziva in the elevator before taking her to the conference room.

They sat down. "You want to explain the whole thing to me now?"

"Explain?"

"What you're doing here, Ziva."

Ziva paused for a moment. "I returned to Israel, as instructed."

"And then?"

"Three months later, I left."

"Why?"

Ziva could tell this would be a complicated converastion. "I was four months pregnant."

Gibbs thought for a moment. "That means you became pregnant while you were in the States. You flew to Israel a month after the liaison position was terminated."

Ziva changed the subject. "I left Mossad because it is a seriously unsafe place for a pregnant person to be. I knew that if I told anyone about my condition, I would be…dealt with."

"So you abandoned Mossad," Gibbs said, leaning back in his chair.

"Technically, yes. I did abandon Mossad. I flew to Australia. Had Lucy. I was there until a few days ago."

"Why did you leave?"

"At Mossad, people don't just leave. You can't leave. They sent people to find me. When I realised I was being followed, I packed up everything and returned to Washington."

"So-"

"There is more," Ziva continued.

Gibbs fell silent.

"My father was demoted from Director of Mossad. He's the Deputy Director again. After I left, rumours began spreading that he was covering for me, protecting me from being found. Asa Nouri stepped up as Director. He's heading the hunt for me."

"Is Asa a-"

"Asa is one of the most qualified Mossad officers that there is. He has extensive undercover experience, mostly with Hamas, and he was also the officer who helped train me. He was also involved in many of Ari's missions."

"So if he wants to find you, he won't find it overly difficult," Gibbs said.

"I'm making it as hard as I can. I'm hiding Lucy whenever I can, trying to keep her protected."

"And what are you doing to protect yourself?"

Ziva grimaced. "I went to the Embassy after leaving Lucy here. I was ambushed. They know I'm in the city. Aba rescued me," Ziva explained. "That's how I know about Asa becoming the Director."

Gibbs stood up. "You can stay here temporarily."

"Gibbs, it's not necessary-"

"We'll sort this out," he said firmly.

Ziva stood up as well. "Thank you."

* * *

"Lucy's got a lot of you in her," Gibbs said as they walked back to Abby's.

Ziva smiled. She was about to say 'And her father', but caught herself just in time.

"No! Don't wanna leave!" Lucy shrieked, putting a tighter hold on Abby's leg.

"Told you she'd love me!" Abby yelled over the noise.

Ziva tried again. "Lucy, come on, we have to-"

"I wanna stay with Abby!"

"What did you do with her? She was terrified of you," Ziva said.

"I let her play on the Barbie website. I can't believe she didn't know what a Barbie was," Abby said.

"Great. She'll be corrupted for life," Ziva muttered.

"Let me try," Gibbs said, thoroughly amused by the situation. He bent down and tickled Lucy.

"Ooo! No tickles! No tickles!" she squealed between giggles.

Ziva swooped in and picked her up. "Say goodbye to Abby now."

Lucy scrunched up her nose at her mother before turning to Abby. "Bye, Abby."

Abby smiled and waved.

* * *

They arrived in the squadroom a few minutes later. McGee was working on his computer. Tony was throwing peanuts into the air and catching them in his mouth.

"How mature of you, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, sitting at his desk.

Ziva took her place behind her desk, sitting Lucy on her knee. She sighed, remembering watching the team from where she sat.

The elevator door dinged.

"Tony!" came a voice. Ziva looked over to see a blonde woman walking towards them. "You forgot your glasses this morning. I thought I'd bring them to you."

"You wear glasses?" Ziva asked.

"Used to wear contacts. Don't wear them as much anymore," Tony answered. "Thanks, Anna."

Ziva stared at the woman. _So this is Anna._

"Hi everyone," Anna said to the team. She looked pointedly at Tony.

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Anna, this is Ziva and Lucy. Ziva, same thing, names reversed," he said.

Anna held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," Ziva said.

"Well, I'd better be going. I'll see you tonight, Tony," Anna said before returning to the elevator.

Ziva turned on the computer and sent Tony an Instant Message.

_Guest001: You didn't tell her about Lucy?_

Ziva was surprised for a moment. She was used to seeing her display name being "ZDavid", not "Guest001".

Tony replied almost instantly.

_ADiNozzo: Didn't have a chance to._

_Guest001: Seriously?_

Tony looked over to see Ziva smirking at him.

_ADiNozzo: Alright, I chickened out._

_Guest001: Ha._

"Ziva," Gibbs said. "You and Lucy're staying at my place tonight."

"Why're you staying with-" Tony began, but stopped after receiving a start from Gibbs.

Ziva knew not to argue. "Thank you, Gibbs."

Tony kept looking at her questioningly until she threw a wad of paper at him.

* * *

"Gibbs, I appreciate this," Ziva said as she put blankets onto the bed that was a couch. She'd never really seen the inside of Gibbs' house; just the basement.

"No problem," he replied.

Ziva got Lucy settled in the bed before heading to the kitchen with Gibbs. "Gibbs, I want to apologize to you."

"For?" he said, making coffee.

"Jenny."

Gibbs froze for a second, but then resumed working.

"I know I apologized at the time, but-"

"Ziva, it was four years ago."

"All the same, I'm sorry."

They remained silent for a moment before being interrupted by talking from the other room.

"…and grass and chimneys and yoghurt and paper…"

Gibbs looked suspiciously at Ziva.

"She talks in her sleep. Never makes any sense, and never remembers anything in the morning," she explained.

"So her father…"

Ziva thought for a moment. "Complicated situation."

"Right…"

"So tomorrow?"

"You'll come to NCIS. Temporary agent. At least until we can sort out the Mossad issues."

"Thank you," Ziva said before heading back to the lounge room.

* * *

A/N Please please please review. 8 is my minimum to update, but I want as many as I can get. I think my record was 26.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N 16 reviews! Woot!

Very productive day yesterday. I'm in the middle of writing Chapter 14. Of course, it probably means I will fail French for not getting my work done...I'll do that later. Priorities come first. Lol.

* * *

Chapter 7

Ziva tossed and turned in her sleep.

"_Let her go! You can't take her! It's me you want!" she yelled._

_Ignoring her, the man grabbed Lucy and dragged her to another room. _

"_MUMMY!"_

_Seconds after the door slammed behind them, a shot was fired, and Lucy's screams vanished._

"Ziva. Ziva!"

Ziva woke, covered in cold sweat and panicking. "Lucy?"

"She's in the kitchen, eating breakfast," Gibbs said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Ziva took a moment to regain her composure.

Gibbs watched her, concerned. "Nightmare?"

"Yes," she replied, wiping her face. "I'm fine now."

Gibbs had never seen her so agitated. "Come on, we've gotta be at the office soon."

"Yeah, sure," Ziva said, embarrassed.

* * *

"Boooooored," Lucy complained. "So boooooored…"

"Lucy, shh," Ziva said. They were in the squadroom, Ziva working at her desk and Lucy on the floor behind her. Ziva had filled out to appropriate paperwork and was now a temporary field agent.

"Wanna go outside!" Lucy exclaimed.

Ziva turned to Gibbs apologetically. "She's not usually like this. Usually she's very good."

"She's not used to being stuck inside all the time," Gibbs supplied.

"Exactly."

"DiNozzo, take Ziva and Lucy to Waverly Park for a while. Give the kid some air."

Tony looked up. "Okay."

Ziva walked over to Gibbs' desk. "I can't be seen. I have no idea where Asfiri, Yochanan and Gamiel are."

"Who?"

"They are the Mossad agents who ambushed me at the Embassy."

"Tony can be your protection detail. And it's not like you're not armed," Gibbs said.

Ziva smirked. Two knives and two guns were probably more than what she should be carrying, but she had just wanted to make sure.

"Go. Now," Gibbs ordered, sending Tony, Ziva and Lucy to the elevators.

* * *

"Hate 'levators. 'Levators fall," Lucy whined when they were heading to the car.

"So you've said every time we even go near them," Ziva said, shifting Lucy to her other hip.

"Don't worry, Lucy. When I was your age I was scared of elevators too," Tony said.

"Really?" Lucy said amazedly.

"Yeah. I got over it though. You will too," he said.

Ziva smiled at him.

* * *

Once they were at the park, they sat Lucy in the sandpit before sitting down on a bench not far away.

Ziva explained the Mossad situation to him.

"So you're hiding from them until…"

"Not sure. I'm pretty sure Gibbs will sort the whole thing out. You know what he's like," Ziva said. "Speaking of Gibbs, he's…he's…"

"Different?"

"Yes! You noticed it too?"

"Of course I did," Tony said, watching Lucy play. "I've been back for years."

"It's like he…cares more. He's not as cold as he was. I knew he could be nice, but now he's like that naturally."

"Yeah," Tony said thoughtfully.

Ziva watched him for a moment. "Go."

"What?" Tony said, turning to look at her.

"Go play with her."

"Lucy?"

"No, that other little girl on the swings. Yes, Lucy. You're her father, you should get to play with her."

Tony looked uncertain. "What if I-"

"She won't break. Go on," Ziva urged.

Tony got up and went over to the sandpit. After a moment of talking to Lucy, Ziva saw Tony join her in making a sandcastle.

Ziva pulled out her mobile phone and took a few pictures, making a mental note that she had to print them out.

She spent the next few minutes admiring the surroundings. Waverly Park was massive, and was filled with families.

Suddenly Tony was next to her, holding Lucy. "Gibbs just rang. We've gotta go."

"What's going on?"

"McGee got a GPS fix on Asfiri's phone."

"Where is he?"

"On the other side of the park. Come on!" Tony urged, grabbing her hand.

"Tony, the car is over that side-"

"I know that," he said. "That's why we're hiding until Gibbs gets here."

Lucy remained silent, sensing that talking would probably aggravate her mother and Tony.

"Hiding?" Ziva said in disbelief.

Tony didn't talk until they were safely behind some bushes.

"Great. Really great hiding place," Ziva said.

"You got a better idea?" Tony said, peering over the top of the bush.

Ziva didn't answer. She was too distracted by Tony's hand, which was still tightly around hers.

_Get a grip,_ she thought to himself. _He's engaged. Taken. Not for you._

_But he's still Tony, then man I…_

_Love? Sure._

_It's true._

"Mummy," Lucy said nervously.

"Yes?"

"Uncle Gibbs is over there," she said, pointing.

Ziva had no idea where the 'Uncle' bit came from, but was glad all the same.

"Alright, let's go. I can't see Asfiri anywhere," Tony said. Holding each others' hands still, they made their way towards Gibbs.

* * *

A/N Please review! I wanna break my '26 review' record!

Next chapter: Tony talks to Anna, but not about what he wanted to, and Gibbs finds out about Lucy's father.


	9. Chapter 8

A/N I realise I could have waited longer to update to see how many reviews I could get, but then I got to school and was amazed how quickly I could become bored. So here I am, posting the new chapter.

Huh. If that made no sense to you, you are not alone.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 8

"How did he know Ziva was there?" Tony asked as they took their seats in the squadroom.

"Could have been a coincidence," McGee suggested. By now, everyone knew about Ziva and her running from Mossad.

Gibbs just stared at him.

"I can't go anywhere," Ziva muttered.

Lucy got up and went over to Tony. "Can I sit on your knee?" she asked politely.

Tony looked nervously at Ziva, who nodded vigorously.

"Sure."

Lucy climbed up.

"So what do we do now?" Ziva asked, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling she felt every time she saw Tony with Lucy. "Obviously we can't go out anymore."

"Unless we use you as bait," Gibbs said. "We send you out, Mossad will close in, we'll take them into custody, issue can be resolved."

"It's an idea" Ziva said.

"McGee, can you get a fix on Asfiri's phone again?" Gibbs asked.

McGee typed for a moment. "Nope. Phone must be switched off."  
"Can you get a fix on any of the others?"

More typing. "No."

"I'm up for being bait. I just want this thing over," Ziva said to Gibbs.

"Alright."

* * *

That night, Tony returned home happier than usual. He was spending time with his daughter. She didn't hate him. She actually liked him.

"I'm home!" he called when he got inside.

No reply.

"Anna?" he said, putting his bag down and heading further into the apartment.

She was sitting on the couch, crying.

"Anna? What's wrong?" Tony said, taking a seat next to her.

Anna took a moment before talking. "I went to the doctor's today."

"Yeah, and?"

"He told me I'm infertile," she said, sniffling. "I'm so sorry, Tony."

Tony didn't know how to react. What was he supposed to say? _'It's alright! I have a daughter with another woman!"_

No.

"It's not your fault," he said.

"I'm still sorry," she said. She turned to face him. "You still want to get married?"

"What? Yes, of course!" Tony replied.

Obviously that had been her main worry, because she brightened up considerably. "Okay," she said. "I'm going to go start dinner."

After she left, Tony slumped back against the cushions. Now things were even more complicated.

* * *

"Can I go watch television?" Lucy asked after she had guzzled down her dinner.

"Sure," Gibbs said.

Lucy ran off.

"How is she going to know how to turn it on?" Gibbs asked.

"She's pretty good with remotes. And anything to do with movies," Ziva replied. _Whoops._

"A lot like DiNozzo," Gibbs said conversationally, eating another mouthful of Chinese food.

"Yes. I suppose so," Ziva said carefully.

Gibbs stared at her. "Ziva."

"What?"

Gibbs continued to watch her. _Busted._

"Alright, fine! He is her father. Go ahead, yell at me for Rule 12. But even he didn't find out until the other day! I hadn't told anyone!" Ziva burst out.

Gibbs remained silent, chewing on his food.

"Are you going to say anything?" Ziva said, surprised that he hadn't said anything.

Gibbs shrugged and swallowed. "Not much I can say."

"No lecture about breaking one of your rules?"

"Calculating how old Lucy is, it appears you and DiNozzo weren't coworkers at the time, so Rule 12 wouldn't have applied."

Ziva blinked. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Ziva smiled. "You really are different, you know that?"

Gibbs smirked. "Oh yeah."

* * *

Later that night, with Gibbs down in the basement putting the finished touches on his boat, Ziva sat up in bed, reading a story to Lucy.

"…she would never forget the boy, Peter Pan, and the wonderful adventure the all had in Never Land. The End," Ziva finished, putting the book down.

"I wanna go to Never Land!" Lucy said excitedly.

"Of course you do," Ziva said. "You just want to meet Tinkerbell."

"And the Lost Boys!" Lucy said. Then she stopped smiling. "Why don't I have a daddy like Wendy and her brothers?"

Ziva bit her lip. How could she explain. "I promise, one day, you will have a daddy, just like Wendy."

"And Michael and John?"

"And Michael and John."

Lucy snuggled down under the covers. "Night Mummy."

"Goodnight Lucy."

Long after Lucy was asleep, Ziva was still awake, thinking. What would happen once Mossad weren't after her anymore? She couldn't be with Tony; he was with Anna. Things with Lucy would never be normal. Maybe she could go back to work at NCIS, but this time as an Agent, not Officer.

But for now, she'd have to concentrate on keeping Lucy and herself safe.

"...and mermaids and hooks and pirates and Tinkerbell…"

Ziva smiled.

* * *

A/N Please please please review!

The whole 'Gibbs-finding-out-about-Tony' thing probably what people had expected, but it was how I pictured it in my head. Well, not exactly, because what I picture had dancing mushrooms in the background (don't ask), so I altered it a bit.

Next chapter: Little bit of Tiva fluff, and Ziva gets set up as bait.


	10. Chapter 9

A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! 14 reviews!

Okay, so only three scenes in this chapter, but yeah. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 9

"_Let her go! You can't take her! It's me you want!"_

"_MUMMY!"_

_BANG_.

"Lucy!" Ziva said as she sat bolt upright.

"Morning!" Tony said brightly as he handed her a cup of coffee. Ziva accepted it, feeling very self-conscious in her pyjamas.

"What are you doing here?"

"Gibbs took Lucy into work. Today you and I are going to set you up as bait," he said, standing up and heading over to her bag.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Looking for something for you to wear," Tony replied brightly.

Ziva frowned at him. "What's wrong?"

Tony turned to face her. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

"You are too happy for this time of morning," Ziva said simply.

Tony sat down on the edge of the bed. "I talked with Anna last night."

"You told her about Lucy?" Ziva asked.

"No."

"Tony," Ziva scolded.

"No, she told me that she's infertile. She and I won't be having any kids."

Ziva instantly felt bad. "Tony, I'm sorry-"

"It's no-one's fault," Tony said, standing back up and going through Ziva's things. "And I've still got Lucy."

"You have to tell Anna about her," Ziva said. "The longer you wait, the more complicated it will be."

"I know," Tony said. He paused, pulling a photo album out of Ziva's bag. "What's this?"

"Photos. Of Lucy," Ziva said.

Tony sat down on the bed next to her. "Can I look?"

"She's your daughter. If anything, you need to look at them."

"Huh," Tony said.

"What?"

"It's just weird. Thinking of me with a daughter. Thinking of you and me with a daughter. It's weird."

"Weird?"

"In a good way," he added quickly.

They spent the next half hour going through the album, Ziva telling the stories that went with the photos, Tony laughing.

"My favourite has got to be the one of you just after you had her," Tony said. "You look great. The whole sweat running down your face and the hair glued to your back thing really works for you."

Ziva slapped him. "You try going through 27 hours of labour. Then we'll see who's laughing."

Tony fell silent.

"That reminds me, I have more photos to put in there," Ziva said, reaching over to her bag and pulling out a few pictures.

"What're these from? Tony asked as Ziva slipped them into the album.

"The other day at the park. You and Lucy in the sandpit," Ziva said, showing him. "I just thought it was nice."

"Nice?"

"Seeing her playing with her daddy."

Tony stared at the picture for a moment. "Ziva, can I keep this one?"

"Sure!" Ziva said, pulling it out. She'd printed doubles just in case. "Sure, you can keep it."

"Thanks," Tony said, putting it in his jacket pocket. "Now come on, Gibbs'll kill us if we're late in the field."

* * *

The car ride to the park was silent, with neither Tony nor Ziva talking. Both of them were thinking.

Ziva was staring out the window.

_You still love him, don't you._

_Of course I do. I never had a reason to stop._

_He's engaged!_

_It could end._

_That's a horrible thing to think!_

_No matter what happens, he has to be around. For Lucy_.

Tony was watching the road ahead.

_You still love her, don't you._

_Of course I do. I never had a reason to stop._

_You're engaged!_

_It could end._

_That's a horrible thing to think!_

No matter what happens, I have to be around. For Lucy.

"We're here," Tony said finally. He couldn't believe he'd been thinking about ending his engagement.

"So what's the plan here?" Ziva asked as they got out. She couldn't believe she's been thinking about Tony ending his engagement so she could be with him.

"You just sit on the bench. I'll be watching from afar. You've got the camera glasses. Play it by ear."

Ziva slipped the glasses on. "I feel like a dork."

"Reminds me of the time you were actually meant to look like one," Tony sniggered.

Ziva considered throwing her shoe at him.

"Alright, off you go!" Tony said. Ziva poked her tongue out at him before heading off.

* * *

"_You got anything, DiNozzo?"_ Tony heard Gibbs say through the phone.

"Nothing Boss. We've been here for hours," Tony said. While the mission was pretty much a bust, he'd been rather enjoying himself. He'd been allowed to look at Ziva for ages and no-one could tell him off.

"_Keep me posted_," Gibbs said, hanging up.

"How you going Ziva?" Tony said into his microphone

"_I have never been more bored in my life_," Ziva muttered into her microphone.

"Well, I…got something," Tony said. He dialled Gibbs on his phone. "Boss, Asfiri's here, and he's not alone."

"_How many others?"_

"Two. Looks like Gamiel and Yochanan."

"_On our way. Get Ziva moving."_

"Ziva, start walking around, but don't go to the north side," Tony said, keeping the Mossad agents in sight.

"_Okay."_

Tony watched as Ziva slowly began walking, hoping that it would buy them some time until Gibbs and McGee got there.

* * *

A/N Review!

Next chapter: The confrontation, an elevator scene and a revelation.


	11. Chapter 10

A/N Yay! Tenth chapter!

I really wanna make some chocolate cupcakes...hehehe.

Here's the new chapter!

Yay!!

* * *

Chapter 10

Ziva could feel her hands sweating slightly. It had been years since she'd been on a mission.

"_Gibbs and McGee are here. Starting walking to the car," _Tony instructed her through the earpiece.

"Got it." Ziva made her way through the crowds.

Sure enough, Gamiel, Yochanan and Asfiri were all in the park, walking her way.

She reached the car and got in, waiting for the officers to approach.

She heard them talking before she saw them.

"It's her."

Ziva closed her eyes.

"Drop your weapons!" Gibbs yelled from a few metres away. Ziva looked sideways and saw that Gamiel and Asfiri had both drawn guns.

For a moment, no-one moved.

Gamiel smashed the car window, sending glass flying all over Ziva, adding to her number of cuts that were sustained the last time she saw them.

Yochanan opened the door and grabbed her, but promptly dropped her just as she heard a shot fired.

Struggling to get off the ground, Ziva reached to her waist and pulled out her knife, plunging it into the leg of her nearest attacker.

More shots were fired. Finally, when silence fell, Ziva looked up to view the damage. Asfiri was lying motionless on the ground, bleeding from the head and leg. Yochanan was being handcuffed by Gibbs.

Gamiel was nowhere to be seen.

"You okay?" Tony asked as he pulled Ziva up.

'If I get any more injuries I'm going to fall into pieces," Ziva said. "Where's Gamiel?"

"Escaped. But we got this buffoon," McGee said, nudging Yochanan with his foot. Yochanan glared at them.

Ziva had a sudden thought. "Who's with Lucy?"

"What?"

"You took her into work. Who's with her now?" Ziva said to Gibbs.

"I left her unattended."

"YOU WHAT?"

Gibbs smirked. "She's with Palmer."

"Palmer? You think that's wise?"

"You'd rather I leave her with Abby next time?"

Ziva considered this. "Good point."

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

"Mummy!" Lucy squealed as she saw Ziva walk into the squadroom. She ran over and threw herself against her.

"Hi sweetie," Ziva replied, stroking the little girl's hair.

Tony resisted the urge to do the same thing.

"How was she?" Ziva asked Palmer, who was sitting on the floor.

"She stole my glasses."

"Did she?" Ziva said, turning to face Lucy.

"And I need them back, Doctor Mallard needs me back down in Autopsy. Something about a new body."

"Well, yeah, Palmer, we killed him," McGee said.

Lucy giggled and passed the glasses back. Palmer walked off.

"Anyone ever wonder why Palmer doesn't call Ducky 'Ducky'? He always calls him 'Doctor Mallard'," McGee said as they sat down.

"No," Gibbs said as he walked past.

Everyone quickly resumed their work.

"Mummy," Lucy whispered from where she sat on Ziva's knee. "Have you talked to Daddy yet?"

Ziva froze. Lucy didn't know that Tony was her father – but she did know that her father was at NCIS.

"Tony," Ziva hissed. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Tony nodded. "Going for coffee, Boss," he said loudly. Ziva put Lucy down next to McGee and followed Tony to the elevator.

* * *

"What's up?" Tony said as he shut down the elevator.

"Okay, Gibbs knows about you being Lucy's father-"

"What?!" Tony burst out. "When did you tell him?"

"Last night at dinner."

"How did he take it?"

"Fairly well, actually," Ziva said. "He didn't even give me the Rule 12 lecture."

"Seriously? What did he say?"

"Something about Rule 12 not applying at the time."

Tony sighed. "So now what?"

"Lucy doesn't know you are her father. Neither does Abby or anyone else here," Ziva said. "And I'm guessing Anna doesn't know either?"

Tony didn't answer.

"Tony, you have to tell her-"

"I know, Ziva, but it's a bit more complicated than just telling her. She's upset, she just found out she can't have kids of her own. It'll be hard for her to hear that I have a daughter with someone else."

Ziva thought for a moment. "I won't tell Lucy yet. She'll go blabbing around. Anna deserves to know first."

"You're right," Tony said. "I'll tell her soon as I can."

Ziva smiled. "That's good, Tony. And you're doing a great job with Lucy."

Tony grinned. "I've told you before, I'm great with kids. Kids love me."

Ziva laughed.

* * *

They returned to the squadroom half and hour later holding coffee for everyone.

"Any update?"

"Yochanan is refusing to talk. Asfiri died when Gibbs shot him in the head," McGee explained.

Gibbs stared at him.

"Anything on Gamiel?"

"Not yet. Mobile phone is off and his files are deleted from the system."

"So it's like he doesn't exist?"

"Pretty much."

Lucy walked over to her mother. "When can we go home?"

"Later on today."

"Afternoon?"

"Sure, this afternoon."

Lucy sat down and began playing with some crayons.

"Boss! Got something," McGee announced. "Gamiel's phone isn't registered to him."

"How could you not notice that earlier?"

"I just ran the number, not the actual phone," McGee explained.

"Who's it registered to?"

McGee typed for a minute. "Someone named Asa Nouri."

Ziva paled dramatically.

"You alright?" Tony asked.

Ziva didn't answer.

"DiNozzo, put out a BOLO on both Nouri and Gamiel," Gibbs instructed. "Ziva, with me."

Ziva followed him out of the room.

* * *

"I haven't sat down properly all day," Ziva muttered as Gibbs shut down the elevator. "I'm getting very well acquainted with this space."

"Is there any history between you and Nouri?"

"Asa was the one who trained me as a Mossad officer, I told you that-"

"I meant besides professionally"

Ziva looked away.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Gibbs, come on-"

"Straight answer, Ziva."

Ziva swallowed. "Yes."

"Would this history contribute to his motive to capture you?"

"Possibly."

Gibbs stared at her.

"Gibbs, it was years ago. Just after Ari's first mission in America. After that, I broke it off, saying it was interfering with my working ability. He was too much of a distraction."

"And then?"

"He didn't take it well, but I kept my distance."

Gibbs sighed. "If we find Nouri or Gamiel, you will have to go into official protective custody. Lucy as well."

"I'm already staying with you. I go everywhere with an agent with me. And now that I'm an agent, I have another gun."

"But it's not officially protective custody."

Ziva frowned, defeated.

"You can still go out with Lucy, just take DiNozzo or McGee with you."

Ziva smiled happily. "I appreciate that."

"It's not for you. If Lucy gets stuck inside any more than she already does she's going to turn into an Elf Lord."

He flicked the emergency switch off and they returned to the squadroom.

* * *

A/N Please review!! I love them all so much!

Okay, some grim news...I'm going away for a week, so I won't be able to update at all...unless I get access to a computer...but I doubt it.

Anyway, to keep you interested...

Next chapter: The airconditioning breaks at NCIS, and Ziva needs somewhere new to stay. Guess where she ends up?


	12. Chapter 11

A/N I'm back!!

I didn't write any fanfiction the entire time that I was away. Oh well. I have the next few chapters all ready to go though.

Enjoy!!

* * *

Chapter 11

Two days passed with no leads. Unfortunately, the air conditioning system had broken, and the whole squadroom was like a sauna.

The team were all sitting at their desks, waiting for one of their computers to beep with information.

"Mummyyyyyy," Lucy whined.

Ziva gently threw yet another icy pole at her.

"Thank you."

Tony, remembering the last time that the air conditioning had stopped working, had prepared an esky full of icy poles and icepacks, something which everyone else was very grateful for.

"Okay, I'm bored," Tony said from where he lay behind his desk.

"You are always bored Tony," Ziva replied from behind her desk.

"I'm bored too!" Lucy chimed in.

Tony still hadn't told Anna about Lucy. She'd been away with work for the last two days, and was due back in three.

"Alright, coffee run," he announced. "I have got to get out of here."

"Coffee? You honestly want to drink boiling water right now?" Ziva said incredulously, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Okay, iced coffee."

"Better."

"You two coming?" Tony asked as he walked past her desk.

Ziva looked at Lucy, who nodded. "Yeah, we're coming."

* * *

Five minutes later they were standing in the café, rejoicing under a fan.

"Much better," Tony said, turning his head from side to side.

Ziva adjusted Lucy on her hip. "I can't believe a government agency would have to wait so long to have their air conditioning fixed."

"Took a while last time as well. Go sit down, I'll order," Tony replied.

Ziva sat at a table near the window.

"Mummy, have you talked to Daddy yet?" Lucy asked, trying to peel her sticky legs from the chair.

Ziva turned to face her. "Yes, I have, Lucy, but it might be a while before-"

"But I wanna meet him now!" Lucy burst out.

"How about, instead, you can work out what you're going to say to him?" Ziva tried.

"I 'ready know what I'm gonna say," Lucy said proudly.

"And what's that?"

"I'm gonna say 'Hi Daddy, I love you'."

Ziva was silent for a moment. "I think he will like that."

"I think so too."

"Here we are, one Berry Mango Madness for the ninja, one apple juice for the mini ninja, and a thickshake for me," Tony said, unloading his tray.

Ziva laughed. "What happened to the iced coffee?"

"We'll get something that like for Gibbs when we leave," Tony said, sucking on his straw.

Lucy giggled.

"So how has Anna been?" Ziva said conversationally.

"She's been fine. Well, really, we haven't talked about her much. If she upset though, she's doing a good job of hiding it," Tony said.

"Tony…"

"I know, I know, I have to tell her."

"Tell her what?" Lucy interrupted.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other guiltily. "Um. Nothing. Grown-up stuff."

Lucy resumed drinking her juice.

* * *

For the next hour they sat in the café, talking and laughing amicably. They knew Gibbs wouldn't mind; if he needed them he could call.

"Hey, look," Lucy said suddenly, standing up on her chair, looking out the window.

Ziva was laughing at some immature thing Tony had said. "What is it?"

"That man over there. He looks like one of those people at the airport."

The laughing stopped.

"Where are you looking?" Tony said, looking out the window as well.

Lucy pointed him out. "He's comin' over here. Can we say hi?"

Ziva reached over and pulled Lucy over to her. "Tony, call Gibbs."

Tony was already dialing. "Boss, found Gamiel. Right near Presto Café."

_"Get Ziva and Lucy out of there. Get back here now."_

Tony shut the phone. "Let's go."

* * *

"You get him?" Tony asked as Gibbs and McGee walked into the squadroom two hours later. Just after Tony had called, they had headed to the café.

"Yeah, Tony, he's in my coffee cup."

"That's an old one, Boss."

Gibbs glared at him.

"So now he knows I'm still around," Ziva said. She was brushing Lucy's hair.

"You are now in protective custody, Ziva. No more day trips," Gibbs said.

Ziva grumbled to herself.

"You're not staying at my place tonight. He might already know you've been there," he continued.

Ziva put her hands over Lucy's ears. "Then where the hell am I going to go?" she hissed.

"Hey! I can't hear anythin'!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Stay with DiNozzo," Gibbs said simply.

Ziva froze. "But…Anna…"

"She's away with work for a few more days," Tony said.

Ziva shrugged. "I suppose that would be alright then…"

Tony grinned.

* * *

A/N Please review!!

In the next chapter: Ziva and Lucy go to Tony's house.


	13. Chapter 12

A/N Here's the new chapter! Everyone seems to want the same thing to happen...

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 12

Later that night, Tony was pacing around his kitchen, wait for Ziva and Lucy to arrive. They had gone back to Gibbs' house to collect their things, and would then be dropped off at Tony's.

Tony looked around. He'd cleaned up as much as he could. In the few days that Anna had been away, he'd been able to create a surprising amount of mess.

The doorbell rang.

"Hi guys," he said, opening the door.

"Tony!" came a squeal. Tony felt a small pair of arms wrapping around his legs.

"I think she's excited," Ziva said, sidestepping them and walking inside.

Once Tony had detached Lucy from himself, he carried her into the lounge.

Ziva turned to face him. "So…you've changed things in here."

Tony put Lucy down on the couch. "Anna's doing mostly. She didn't like the idea of living in mounds of clothes and pizza boxes."

Ziva looked around. The walls had been painted a cream color, and it seemed that all the furniture was either blue or white. The movie posters had been removed and replaced with framed paintings of flowers. Everything was stacked neatly and there was even an automatic air freshener on the wall.

Ziva accidentally smirked.

"What?" Tony asked.

"I just never really pictured you living in a place like…this," she said, trying to phrase it nicely.

"Anna wants to buy a house outside of the city after the wedding," Tony said. Ziva couldn't help but notice that he didn't seem overly thrilled by the idea.

Lucy sat on the floor and pulled out her crayons and notepad.

"I'll go order dinner," Tony said, leaving the room.

Ziva continued looking around. She knew she shouldn't be snooping, but she was very curious about the woman that Tony was going to marry.

She went over to the fireplace and examined the photos that were on the mantle. They were all of Tony and Anna together.

Ziva felt a pang of longing. While it was perfectly fair that Tony had moved on and found someone else, she felt like she was missing out. The man she loved was getting married to a stranger. Someone out of their loop.

"We went to Florida for a weekend," Tony said, sneaking up behind her and looking at the photo she was studying.

Ziva jumped slightly.

"Dinner'll be here soon," he told her. "Come with me."

* * *

Ziva followed him to the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" Tony asked.

Ziva considered this. Was she okay? Wanting something she could never have? "Why do you ask?"

"You seem not okay."

"I am fine, Tony," she said.

Tony didn't believe her but he let it slide.

* * *

Twenty minutes later their pizza arrived. Tony and Ziva sat on the couch together, enjoying themselves while watching Lucy struggle with her very stretchy cheese.

"Hello? Tony?" came a voice.

Tony dropped his pizza.

Ziva was equally as shocked. "You said she was away for a few more days," she whispered.

Lucy watched them with interest.

"My conference finished early, so I decided to come-" Anna froze when she saw the scene in front of her. "Tony?"

Tony stood up, followed closely by Ziva. "Anna-"

Anna left the room.

"We'll go," Ziva said quietly. "One more night at Gibbs' place can't hurt. Thank you for dinner, Tony."

Tony didn't answer as he followed Anna.

* * *

He found her in the bedroom. "Anna-"

"I go away for two days, and I come back to find you with someone else and her daughter," she said, tears appearing in her eyes. "Did you think that-"

"Anna, Anna, Anna," Tony said, taking her bag out of her hand and sitting down on the bed with her. "I can explain."

"Tony-"

"Let me finish first," he said. Anna closed her mouth. "Ziva and Lucy are in protective custody. Someone is after them, and they needed a place to stay. They couldn't stay with Gibbs, so they were going to stay here. That's all."

Anna wiped her eyes and pushed her blonde hair away from her face.

"They're leaving now," Tony continued.

"Sorry, Tony, I just…" Anna paused for a moment. "I tell you I can't have children and then I see you with someone else and their kid. It's just…"

"I know," Tony said, pulling her towards him. She rested her head on his chest.

Ziva poked her head through the doorway. Mouthing 'bye', she retreated and led Lucy outside.

* * *

Ziva edged through the front door, holding a sleeping Lucy and pulling a bag behind her. Carefully she put her daughter and luggage down on the couch, went back and locked the door, then went to the basement.

"Gibbs?"

"Ziva," Gibbs said, straightening up. "What are you doing here? Where's DiNozzo?"

"Anna came home early. Was a bit awkward," Ziva explained as she walked down the stairs. She looked at what Gibbs was building.

"Another boat?"

Gibbs looked at the wooden frame next to him. The Kelly was at the marina, but he when he had come home with nothing to do he'd felt compelled to make another one. "Yeah."

They were silent until Ziva sat down in the corner. "What's happening with Yochanan?"

"He was in interrogation for two days, and he still refused to talk. He was charged with assaulting a federal officer. Until we get more, that's all he's got."

"And leads on Gamiel or Asa?"

"Nope."

Ziva thought for a moment. "So what's Anna like?"

"Who?"

"Anna. Tony's fiancée." Gibbs stared at her. "I'm just curious. I haven't had a proper conversation with her."

Gibbs knew that wasn't the real reason for asking, but chose to answer anyway. "From what I've seen, she seems normal. Well, normal enough to be in love with DiNozzo."

Ziva sniggered slightly.

"Mummy!" squealed a voice from upstairs.

"She's crying. She never cries like that," Ziva said to Gibbs. Together they ran upstairs.

* * *

A/N Review!

What has happened to Little Lucy?

Next chapter: More developements in the case, and Ziva lets her emotions get the best of her.


	14. Chapter 13

A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I keep reading them while I'm supposed to be working...people end up looking at me funny, like it's not normal to burst out giggling.

Pfft. I think it's completely normal.

For Elle, because she makes me laugh with her spelling. (hehe hehe...sorry)

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 13

"Lucy?" Ziva said. Behind her Gibbs had his handgun drawn.

Ziva spotted Lucy behind the couch. "Lucy, what's wrong."

The little girl was clearly distressed. "People at the window."

"What?"

"People was at the window. I woke up and they were there."

Gibbs went to the front door and outside.

"Lucy, Lucy, calm down." Ziva had never seen her daughter this upset, ever when she was a baby. "Did you get a look at their faces?"

A gunshot was heard.

"GIBBS!" Ziva yelled. She picked up Lucy put her next to a cabinet against a wall, hidden from the window. "Stay here. Don't move until I come back. Don't talk. Don't do anything, alright?"

Lucy nodded vigorously.

Ziva ran to her bag and pulled out her handgun before running outside. Silently she made her way around the house, stopping when she reached the back.

"Gibbs?"

Gibbs was kneeling over a body. He stood up.

"It's Gamiel."

"_Oi Va'avoi Li,"_ Ziva breathed. "Did you get him?"

"Was dead when I got here," Gibbs said. "One round, right through the chest."

"Then who else was here? Who killed him?"

"I didn't see anyone. They must have known you were here though."

"How?"

"Might have seen your car on your way from Tony's," Gibbs said. "I'll get the team here. You make sure Lucy's alright."

Ziva walked to the door, then turned to face him.

"Gibbs?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Tony said as he walked in the front door.

Ziva glared at him. She'd just managed to get Lucy to sleep in her arms, and didn't want anything to wake her up.

"Is she alright?" Tony whispered, walking up to them.

"She's fine, considering," Ziva said. She put Lucy down on the couch and walked outside with Tony.

"How's Anna?" she asked once they were out of earshot of everyone else.

"She's fine, considering."

"Tony…"

"She was just upset because I was you guys and the whole kid thing and yeah."

"You didn't tell her about Lucy?"

"Ziva, I will tell you when I've told her," Tony said, annoyed with the repetitive question. "Are you alright?"

Ziva looked away. She didn't want anyone, particularly Tony, knowing how scared she was. If _they_ could find her at Gibbs' house, they could find her anywhere.

Tony recognized her 'I don't want to talk about it' face. "Ziva," he said softly. He put his hand on her shoulder, and his fingertips brushed her face. "It'll be alright."

The words were appreciated, but his touch was what calmed her the most. "Thank you, Tony," she replied just as quietly, before heading back inside.

How could she do this? Getting enjoyment out of his touch wasn't allowed. Not now. Not ever.

About ten minutes later Gibbs, McGee and Tony all came inside. "Nothing. No footprints, no bullet casings, nothing."

"Asa," Ziva muttered.

"What?"

"Asa. Asa Nouri," she said louder. "He and Gamiel are the only ones who are after me and Lucy. They probably went around different sides of the house, Asa saw Gamiel and thought it was someone else, and shot."

"I'll cancel the BOLO on Gamiel," McGee said.

"Gibbs," Ziva muttered. "Where can I go now? I can't stay here, I can't stay with Tony-"

"What about-"

"I refuse to stay with McGee. No offence to him, but no."

"I was going to suggest Abby."

Ziva thought for a moment. "That might be alright. Lucy definitely wouldn't mind."

"Stay at NCIS tonight though, just in case. He isn't going to try to bust into a federal agency," Gibbs said. "Get your stuff."

* * *

Ten minutes later Ziva was lifting her bag into Gibbs' car. He had suggested she take it so she wouldn't draw attention to herself.

While the thought of Gibbs driving a Mini to work in the morning was amusing, Ziva was still somewhat subdued.

"Hey," Tony said. "Want a hand?"

Ziva shook her head. "This is the only bag."

"Where's Lucy?"

"Back seat already. She's asleep."

Tony closed the boot lid and leant against it. "You sure you're alright?"

"No. I am not alright," Ziva said. She was tired, she was scared, and now she was spending the night on the floor behind her desk. Add that to having the man she loved but couldn't have being incredibly nice to her, and she was crumbling. "I don't exactly enjoy moving from place to place, especially when I have to take my daughter with me."

"Our daughter."

"What?"

"You said 'my daughter'. She's our daughter."

Ziva scoffed. "Tony, until you make it official by telling your fiancée so you can work out some system with her, Lucy is mine."

And with that, she got into the car and drove off, leaving Tony standing in the middle of the driveway, confused and hurt.

* * *

"Hey!" Abby exclaimed when she reached the squadroom.

"Abby! What are you doing here again? It's 2130," Ziva said. She was sitting at her desk, with Lucy on her knee and a cup of coffee in her hand. She had changed her mind - she preferred to be spending the night alone.

"Gibbs called me to let me know you were staying here. I thought I might stay with you."

"You want to spend the night on the squadroom floor?"

Abby laughed. "No. Come with me."

* * *

A/N Review! It'll make me giggle more!

And people thought I'd hurt Little Lucy...

Poor Tony...his wittle heart is bwoken...

Next chapter: Abby and Ziva have a little talk, and Tony gets a bit angsty.

Is angsty even a word?

Anyway, let me know what you think!


	15. Chapter 14

A/N 200 reviews!! Yay!!

* * *

Chapter 14

Minutes later they were standing in the forensics lab. Abby was setting up a rollout mattress under her desk and had set up bed of cushions for Lucy.

"I appreciate this, Abby," Ziva said once they were all set up.

"I just figured it would kind of suck staying here all alone. This way, it's fun."

Ziva put Lucy down to sleep before sitting on the bed with Abby.

Abby was scrutinizing her.

"What?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!"

Abby squinted at her. "Your mouth lies, yet your eyes tell the truth."

Ziva couldn't not tell Abby. She knew Abby would keep her secret.

But she had to start from the beginning.

"Lucy is Tony's daughter, Abby."

Abby was motionless for a moment. Then her eyes widened. "You're serious? Oh my God, you are serious."

Ziva waited for Abby to calm herself before speaking again. "Yes, I am serious."

"I should have realised! She looks like him a bit. I can't believe I didn't notice…" Abby said disappointedly.

"Moving on," Ziva said. "Tony hasn't told Anna about her yet."

"Why not? That's the kind of thing a person should tell their fiancée straight away."

"Anna told Tony that she is infertile, and Tony didn't want to rub in the fact that he already has a daughter," Ziva said, knowing Abby wouldn't go blabbing Anna's infertility around.

"Oh…"

"There's more."

Abby could read the expression on Ziva's face right away. "You and Tony had a fight."

"I told him that until he tells Anna about Lucy, she is my daughter, not ours."

"Oh, Ziva-"

"I was tired, I was worried about Lucy. I'm not exactly fond of being on the run from people. While I am somewhat experienced doing it, I don't like it."

"What did Tony say after you yelled at him?" Abby asked.

"Nothing. I drove off and came here."

They were silent for a moment, but Abby kept staring at Ziva's face. "That's not the only problem."

"What?"

"You having a fight with Tony. You being scared. Don't deny it, Ziva," she added when Ziva began to interrupt. "I can tell that you are. What else is wrong?"

Ziva didn't say anything, afraid to tell Abby the truth.

Abby, however, figured out the answer in seconds. "You love him. You are in love with Tony."

"Abby-"

"Stop denying things, Ziva. It'll make things worse. You love him, right?"

"……yes." _Why deny it now? _Ziva thought. _Abby's not one for letting things slide._

"And him being engaged to someone you don't know and him being the father of your gorgeous little girl is becoming too much for you."

Ziva stared at her. How could she know everything perfectly right? "Yes."

"You have to tell him, Ziva."

"Tell him what?"

"That you love him."

Ziva gaped. "How, Abby? How can I tell him that...I love him...when he's engaged and happy with someone else?" She finally admitted it out loud.

"I dunno," Abby said thoughtfully. "But you still should tell him."

"Why?"

"Because people like being told that they are loved," said a voice.

Abby and Ziva turned around the see Lucy watching the intently. She hadn't been asleep like they thought she was.

"Lucy-"

"Tony is my daddy?"

"Wow, she's smart. She knows how to interpret adult conversation," Abby whispered.

Ziva knew that once Lucy wanted to know something, she wouldn't let it go. "Yes, Lucy. Tony is your daddy."

Lucy perked up considerably. "Can I call him 'Daddy' now? Can we stay at his house for dinner again?" she said as she sat in Ziva's lap.

"No, Lucy, we can't. And you can't call him Daddy."

"Whyyyyy?"

"It's a game," Abby supplied.

"Game? Is it fun?"

Abby looked at Ziva. "Um…yes, it is."

"Okay. I'll play." Little Lucy could be convinced of anything.

* * *

The next morning Ziva woke to the sounds of footsteps coming to an abrupt halt.

"Abby…what time is it?" she muttered.

No reply.

She rolled over and looked to the door.

Tony was standing there, staring at her. Ziva became very aware that she was lying on the floor and that her hair was a mess. "Tony-"

Tony cleared his throat. "Boss wants us in the squadroom," he said, turning to leave.

"Tony," Ziva said.

He stopped and faced her again. "What?"

Ziva got up and straightened her clothes. "I am sorry for-"

"Don't worry about it, Ziva. You were right. Until I tell my very insecure, upset and infertile fiancée that I am a father, I shouldn't have a right to say that Lucy is mine."

"Tony-"

"I'll see you in the squadroom," he said, and then he left.

"I love you," Ziva whispered once the elevator doors were closed.

* * *

A/N Please review!

I know this was a little shorter than usual, but the next scene was too long to put in this chapter. I really hope you liked it.

Next chapter: A conversation (not a very good cliffhanger thingo but yeah, that's all that's in the next chapter).


	16. Chapter 15

A/N New chapter! Woot!

* * *

Chapter 15

For the next three days they found no leads on Asa, whom Abby had dubbed 'The Invisible Man'.

Abby had told McGee about Lucy being Tony and Ziva's daughter, and after an initial "Was Abby telling the truth?" conversation, things had settled down.

Things between Tony and Ziva, though, were a completely different story.

Tony hadn't talked to Ziva since that morning in Abby's lab. She had tried to talk to him, but he always managed to get away.

Ziva, while on the outside appeared to be fine, was highly distraught on the inside. She felt bad for hurting Tony the way she did, and found that the further she was from him, the more she wanted him.

Anna made regular trips to NCIS, usually bringing Tony lunch or to remind him that they had plans for that evening. Ziva noticed that just before she would get back into the elevator, Anna would cast one last look over at them.

Lucy spent most of her time with Abby. It was making things much easier for Ziva – they stayed at Abby's overnight, Ziva could come into work early, Abby would come in later with the little girl. Lucy had no problem spending extra time with the Goth. She was learning about 'chemicals and stuff' with eagerness.

Luckily, thanks to the lack of leads, the team wasn't heading out into the field as much, so Ziva often sought consolation in the elevator; shutting it down, kicking the walls, occasionally yelling at the door, before heading back to her desk.

Things changed, however, on the forth day.

Ziva came into work late, her face showing that she had been crying. Gibbs took one look at her and sent her back to the elevator. "DiNozzo, you too," he added.

Once all three of them were standing in front of the elevator, Gibbs turned to face them. "What's going on?"

Neither of them answered. Instead they avoided eye contact.

Gibbs sighed exasperatedly. "Inside, the both of you."

Tony and Ziva moved into the elevator.

"Sort it out. Whatever the hell it is, don't come out until it's fixed." He walked away.

Tony set the elevator moving and then shut it down. Ziva stared at the multiple scuff marks she'd left during her past visits.

Minutes passed in silence until Ziva sniffed quietly, trying to prevent more tears from falling. She knew it was drastically out of character for her to cry, but ever since she'd had Lucy, she displayed her emotions more.

"Ziva," Tony said. He couldn't be mad at her. Not when she was upset like this.

"I am fine," she said. She waited until she was sure there were no glistening tears in her eyes before looking at him.

It was the first time in days that she'd seen him close up. He looked exhausted, with bloodshot eyes and a slightly pale complexion.

For a fleeting moment, thoughts rushed through Ziva's mind.

_He hasn't been sleeping either. He has been just as worried as you have._

_Maybe he loves you too..._

Ziva's shook her head vigorously.

"You are not fine, Ziva,' Tony said quietly.

"It was a mistake," Ziva blurted out, a few tears managing to form and fall within seconds. "I was tired and I was scared and then you were there being all nice and I couldn't handle it anymore. It was wrong of me to pressure you into telling your fiancée that you have a daughter when she's going through something and I snapped and you being all…all…being you and nice and knowing that I can't have you makes it even harder-"

"Did you just say-"

"I'm sorry, Tony. I am truly sorry," Ziva finished quickly, trying to disguise what she had let slip. "Lucy is your daughter, and you have every right to call her your own."

Tony's mind was still reeling from Ziva's speech. He couldn't speak.

_Did she just say she wants to have you? Is that what she said?_

_I think so._

_Wow._

"Tony?" Ziva said uncertainly.

Tony shook his head, much like Ziva had done before. "Yeah?"

"Are we good now?"

"I suppose, Ziva. Yeah, we're good."

For a moment they both made a small movement as if to hug the other, but neither of them completed the motion. Instead, Tony flicked the emergency switch and they returned to the squadroom.

* * *

A/N Review!

Update might be a little bit slower than usual. Studying for French exam and stuff.

I'm still on a high about the new episode. Woot!

Next chapter: haven't finished writing it yet, but so far there's a Lucy moment.


	17. Chapter 16

A/N For Elle, because she claimed it was good.

* * *

Chapter 16

Later that day, Abby walked into the squadroom. McGee was, as usual, working on his computer. Tony was leaning back on his chair, dozing off every few seconds. Ziva was trying to balance a grumbling Lucy with one hand and type something with the other.

"Morning men!" Abby exclaimed. Everyone seemed to wake from their trances. She noticed that Tony and Ziva looked at each other, just for a second, but they made eye contact.

_Thank God,_ she thought. _Things might be normal again._

"Abby, it's five thirty. Not morning," Tony said, sitting up straight.

Lucy giggled.

Gibbs walked in. "Any leads?"

"Nothing. I've got alerts on all of Asa's stuff. Credit cards, passport, that phone that was Gamiel's, everything," McGee said.

Gibbs looked over at Ziva. Once he saw that she was smiling, he knew the little chat she and DiNozzo had in the elevator must have sorted some stuff out.

"Go home. All of you. Been a long day," he said. He returned with Abby to her lab, closely followed by McGee.

Tony and Ziva packed up their things in silence.

"Are we goin' back to Abby's house?" Lucy chirped to her mother.

"Yes."

"Can Daddy come to?"

The tension returned to the room.

"Oops," Lucy said, covering her mouth, recognizing her mistake.

Tony looked questioningly at Ziva, who then walked over to him.

"She overheard me and Abby talking and she figured it out. I'm sorry, Tony, really. She wasn't meant to say anything."

"It was a game!" Lucy added, before silently staring at her shoes.

Ziva turned back to Tony.

"I'll tell Anna," he said. "I'll tell her tonight."

"Really?"

"Really really."

Without thinking, Ziva reached out and touched Tony's shoulder reassuringly. "Good luck," she said, before realising what she was doing. "I'll just go and see if Abby's ready to leave now." She ran off quickly, leaving father and daughter alone in the room.

Tony sat back down on his chair, which Lucy took as an invitation to sit on his knee. "I love you," she said, clearly and looking directly at him.

Tony was a bit shocked. Here was this little girl, his daughter, whom he barely knew and whom he'd barely spent any time with, and she was telling him that she loved him.

He ruffled her hair, which was so similar to Ziva's – thick, dark and so wavy it was almost frizz.

Really, she was a miniature picture of her mother. Her eyes were the exact same shade and shape.

Luckily, she seemed to have a firmer grasp on the English language.

"So…" he said, trying to think of something more substantial to say.

"You're my daddy," Lucy said proudly.

"Yep."

"Do you like being my daddy?"

"Yep."

"Have you always been my daddy?"

"Yep."

"Are you anyone else's daddy?"

"Nope. Just yours," Tony said. He liked this kid.

* * *

"Abby!" Ziva called as she entered forensics.. "You ready?"

"One second," Abby said, appearing near the ballistics lab door. "Where's Lucy?"

"With Tony."

Abby squealed. "WITH TONY?!"

Ziva wasn't sure if she should run away or not. "Yes…"

"So he knows Lucy knows he's her dad now?" she asked, peeling off her gloves.

"Yes."

"She told him? What about the game?"

"She let it slip."

"And he was fine with that?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"He's telling Anna tonight," Ziva said, barely managing to conceal the smile on her face.

Abby eyed her suspiciously. "You so like him."

Ziva gave her a 'well, duh' look. "We established that the other night," she whispered.

"Fair enough," Abby whispered back.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Because you're whispering."

Ziva laughed. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

"So your name is Tony?" Lucy asked.

"Yep. Well, actually, it's Anthony, but people call me Tony."

"Why?"

"Because it's a nickname."

"Why?"

"It's like how people call you 'Lucy' when your name is 'Lucinda'."

"Why?"

"We're here!" Abby announced. Tony let out a sigh of relief.

Ziva noticed. "She ask questions?" she muttered to him.

"Lots."

Ziva smirked slightly as she watched her daughter bounce on Tony's knee.

_Their_ daughter. She was _their_ daughter, not just hers anymore.

"Daddy, can you come over to our house one day?" Lucy asked.

"Daddy?"

Everyone turned to where the voice had come from.

Anna was standing by the elevator with a shocked look on her face. "Did she just call you 'Daddy'?" she asked, walking over slowly.

Ziva and Abby looked just as surprised as Anna. Tony opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to form words.

"Uh…"

"Tony. Did she just call you 'Daddy'?" Anna repeated.

Tony swallowed. "Anna-"

"Tony."

"Yes."

Anna stared at them for a moment, putting the pieces together. The little girl who was Ziva's daughter was calling her fiancé 'Daddy'.

"Anna," Tony began again, but she waved him off.

"I'll see you at home," she said, before returning to the elevator.

Tony passed Lucy to Ziva. Abby muttered something about waiting at the other elevator and walked off.

"This is not good," Tony muttered.

"What do we do now?" Ziva said, readjusting Lucy.

"I'll go and talk to her. I did say I would do it tonight," Tony replied, putting on his coat. He ruffled Lucy's hair. "See you tomorrow kiddo."

"Bye Daddy."

Tony grinned. "I'll never get tired of hearing that," he said. He walked over to the elevator and left.

* * *

A/N Oh dear.

Review!

Updates still might be slower than usual.

Next chapter: The one you've all been waiting for.


	18. Chapter 17

A/N Special thanks to Candygal for her fantastic reviews - you are my rock (Lol).

And to softballchick15, I used an idea similar to yours. I thank you (I meant to send you a message. My bad.)

Here's the new chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 17

Tony drove home in silence. He wasn't exactly looking forward to what he was about to do.

What he had to do.

He arrived at the apartment sooner than he expected – the one time that having lots of traffic would have been a good thing, and there was none.

He went inside. "Anna," he called.

* * *

"So what happens now?" Abby asked. They were at her place again, now eating chips out of a bag. Lucy was in the other room, watching an old Disney movie tape.

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked, wiping her fingers clean.

"With Tony. You and Tony. You and Tony and Lucy."

"Oh. Right," Ziva said, taking her time answering, one because she didn't want to spit chips everywhere, and two because Abby was desperate for answers. "Well, I-"

"What are you going to do?"

"Abby, I don't know what he's doing with Anna. I have no idea whatsoever. He's talking to her tonight about everything. When I know what's going on, I can sort things out with him."

Abby thought for a moment. "What if they break up?"

"Abby!"

"What?"

"That's a horrible thing to think!" _No need to tell her I had the same thought_, Ziva thought to herself.

"You should still consider it."

"I thought you liked Anna," Ziva said.

"I like her, but she's not right for him. She's into stuff that he doesn't like."

"Such as?"

"Have you seen his apartment?"

Ziva smirked slightly. "Good point. But just because someone has a different sense of decoration does not mean that they aren't right for someone else."

"Ziva, come on," Abby said, throwing her hands apart and nearly scattering their chips everywhere. "It's like you aren't even trying. You want him. You can fight for him."

"Abby, I can't just ask him to break up with his fiancée because I 'want him'," she replied, using finger-quotes to emphasise her point. "He can decide everything on his very own."

"Does he even know that you love him?"

"No…" Ziva said sheepishly. "Although I let something slip the other day that might have meant something…"

"Great. He has no idea," Abby said dramatically. "You have to tell him, Ziva!"

"I will!" Ziva shot back. "Eventually…"

"Yeah. Okay. Well, promise me you'll tell him within the next year."

"Only if things are going well."

Abby glared at her.

"Alright, I promise."

* * *

"Anna?" Tony repeated hesitantly, advancing further into the house. He knew she was home – he'd seen her car outside, and she wasn't one for walking places.

He continued to walk through the apartment, checking every room.

He found her in the bedroom, sitting on the bed, staring at something in her hands.

"Anna…"

"How long have you known?"

"What?"

"How long have you known that Lucy was your daughter?" Her voice was shaking and sounded deadly.

"A while. Well, not a while. Not long really," Tony said. He could feel his hands sweating because of his nerves.

"And you didn't tell me?"

Tony leant against the doorframe. He wasn't game enough to sit on the bed next to her.

For such a brave guy, he was being quite a coward.

"I tried to. Once when I got home. You told me something about the wedding caterers. I couldn't tell you about having a daughter when you were talking about the wedding. Then I was going to tell you on another night, but when I got home you were upset about being infertile. I didn't want to rub your face in it."

Anna held up what she was holding. It was the picture that Ziva had taken of him and Lucy at the park, playing in the sand. "I found this in your drawer," she said, jerking her head towards his side of the bed.

"You went through my drawer?" Tony said, moving forward and taking it out of her hand.

Anna just stared at him. "Just to see what else you've been keeping from me."

"So going through my email and my phone on occasion wasn't enough for you?" he burst out angrily. He had never actually told her that he knew about her snooping, but now it seemed like a fair argument. It's how he knew that she was insecure.

Anna didn't speak for a moment. "Well, you kept your entire past with Ziva a secret."

"It's not-"

"Oh, come on, Tony. It wasn't just a fling. You two have a daughter together! It's a whole lot more serious than what you seem to think!" Anna exclaimed, standing up and wringing her hands.

"I was going to tell you tonight. Then you came in to NCIS and found out. It wasn't how it was supposed to happen, but it did. Now we can talk about it," Tony said.

"_Talk_ about it? _Talk_ about it?! Tony, you _lied _to me!"

"I did not lie. I just didn't tell you. You never once came out and asked me if Lucy was my daughter."

"Semantics, Tony. You obviously didn't trust me enough to tell me."

Now Tony was angry. "_Trust_?" You're honestly telling me about trust when you go through my things on a regular basis?"

"For all I know, you still love Ziva."

That came out of nowhere. Tony was stunned. "What?"

"You must have loved her at some point."

Tony stared at her. "We aren't talking about-"

"Do you still love her? Is that what this is? Don't even try lying to me, Tony."

He swallowed, trying to buy himself some time. "Four years ago our team was split up, and she was going back to Israel. I didn't think I'd ever see her again. Things happened, and then I didn't see her until she got back recently. I didn't know about Lucy. Ziva never told me."

Anna smirked. "Well I guess that's it then."

"What?"

"You love Ziva."

"Anna," Tony said, moving towards her again, but she backed off. "I chose you. I asked you to marry me. I moved on from her." Inside his head was a voice, screaming at him. _What are you doing? You still love Ziva. You know that. You have to know that. Stop denying it._

Anna leaned over and picked up a bag from beside her. "I'm going to Jo's for a while."

"You're going to hide out at your sister's place?" Tony said incredulously.

Anna walked past him and headed out, not even flinching at Tony's attempt to get her to stay.

Tony stood there, not sure how he should be feeling. He glanced at the bedside table.

Anna's engagement ring sat there, glinting in the light.

* * *

A/N Review!

Hope you liked it. : )

Next chapter: More conversations (wow, there are a lot of those, aren't there?).

I have finished writing this fic (yay!), but I'm having issues with my computer. I'll update when I can.


	19. Chapter 18

A/N NaNoWriMo is hard!

Lol. It's only day two and I'm saying that. Sad.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 18

Three days later, no-one on the team had heard from Tony. He wasn't answering phone calls, he wasn't at home, and he wasn't at the video rental store.

They were sure, however, that he wasn't missing.

"If he needed us he would call," McGee told a worried Ziva. "We've always been able to find him, he's probably just gone somewhere with Anna."

Ziva stared at him.

"Well, you know, he was going to talk to her. Maybe they made up and went away for a bit," McGee continued, not sure what Ziva's stare meant.

She was thinking.

_He didn't break up with her! McGee's right! He's probably run off to Vegas with Anna and gotten married!_

All of the images in her mind of her, Tony and their daughter being together faded.

Lucy could tell that something was bothering her mother. "Mummy," she whispered from where she sat on the floor beside her. "Mummy, where's Daddy?"

Ziva crouched down to her level. "I don't know, Lucy. But we're going to find him."

"Is he with Hannah?"

"You mean 'Anna'?"

"Yeah. Is he with Anna?"

Ziva didn't know how to answer.

She had wanted them to break up. She had wanted Tony to show up on her doorstep, telling her his engagement was over and that he wanted to be with her.

_Fool_, she thought to herself. _He's always been too preoccupied with other women to even consider you._

"Any word from DiNozzo?" Gibbs said as he walked in.

"Not yet Boss."

Gibbs took one look at Ziva and could practically read her mind. "Ziva, go to Tony's apartment. Check is he's come home yet."

Ziva gave him a weak smile before picking up Lucy and heading to the elevator.

* * *

Tony sat in his kitchen, staring at the cereal box. Anna had always made him breakfast in the mornings – now he had to be self-sufficient again.

After Anna had left he'd gotten into his car and driven as far as he could away from NCIS before he ran out of petrol. He needed to think.

He wasn't sure what to do now. He had ideas, most of which involved walking up to Ziva and saying 'I love you', and he was having difficulty actually knowing that he could do that now. He wasn't engaged anymore. He knew that for certain.

He'd called Anna yesterday.

"_Hello?"_

"_Jo, it's Tony."_

"_Who?"_

"_Tony DiNozzo."_

"_Ah."_

_There was a momentary pause during which Tony could hear Jo talk to her sister quietly. He heard to phone being transferred._

"_Tony?"_

"_Anna-"_

"_Tony, I can't…not with …I can't…Ziva…"_

_She was crying. But she sounded sure._

"_You're ending this?"_

"_Do we have any other option?"_

_Tony felt ready to yell 'There are hundreds of them!' but thought better of it. "Okay."_

"_Okay."_

"_Take care, Anna."_

"_Bye, Tony."_

He felt horrible. He had loved Anna, she had loved him. He had been so unfair towards her by being in love with someone else as well.

Now it was over. But could he move on?

Someone knocked on the door and giggled. He walked over and looked through the peephole.

A big brown eye was staring back at him. "Daddy!" shrieked the little voice.

Smiling, Tony opened the door, and was nearly deafened by the "It's Daddy! It's Daddy!" that was issuing from Lucy's mouth.

Ziva put Lucy down on the ground, and the little girl promptly hugged her dad's knees, which was about the highest place that she could reach.

"Where have you been?" she asked one he'd detached her from his legs and picked her up. She leant forward and whispered into his ear. "Mum was real worried."

Tony led them inside, suddenly conscious that since Anna had left, no-one had done any dusting or any form of cleaning.

Once Lucy was settled on the couch, Ziva grabbed Tony's wrist and pulled him back to the kitchen.

"Ouch! What-"

"Where have you been?" she demanded. "Three days! We had no idea where you were! We didn't know if you'd been kidnapped or missing or-"

"Kidnapped and missing are very similar-"

"-or if you'd run off to Vegas and gotten married or-"

Tony put a finger over her mouth. "I haven't gotten married."

Ziva stopped talking. "What?"

"I haven't gotten married. Actually, I'm not going to be married for a while."

Ziva was still confused. "What?"

"Anna and I broke up. She's staying with her sister for a while and I'm…here."

Ziva frowned. "I'm sad. And I'm mad. I'm smad."

Tony grinned. "You've been watching Gilmore Girls."

"Reruns."

"Nice."

"I'm sorry, Tony," Ziva said. "About Anna." While she was very sincere, inside her mind was cheering.

"Thanks," he sighed. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

Ziva stared at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Majorly out of character for you to say something like that," Ziva said.

"So is you saying 'majorly'-"

"Moving on," Ziva interrupted. "I should be going. Everyone in the team is worried about you. Next time, tell someone that you're alive. Or at least leave your phone on so we can find you easily."

"Noted."

They walked back into the lounge room to find Lucy sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep. Ziva began to move forward, but Tony stopped her. "Let her stay here. I can bring her to work in the morning."

"I'll come back here at 0700. We can drive in together," Ziva said, making her way over to the front door.

"Pfft. You just want to make sure she makes it out of here alive…" Tony muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

* * *

Once Tony had closed the front door behind her, Ziva leant against the wall. Tony was single. She was single. Their daughter loved him.

Everything seemed to be going well.

Still smiling, she made her way down to the elevator.

* * *

Just as she was opening her car door, she felt someone pressed up against her, breathing in her ear.

"Thought you'd escaped, didn't you?" said a voice.

* * *

A/N *waits for cheering about Anna*

Review!

Next chapter: The bad guy is revealed.


	20. Chapter 19

A/N Yay for reviews!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 19

Ziva blinked a few times once her blindfold had been removed. She knew the only reason _he_ had put it on her was so she couldn't identify their location easily.

She was in a hotel room, sitting on the bed, facing a chair that was sitting in the corner.

"_Zehirut, _Asa," she warned as he came into view.

"You tell me to be careful, my Ziva, yet you are the one who is bound. How could you be a threat to me?" he replied calmly.

Ziva pulled at the binds around her wrists, but she couldn't loosen them. "What do you want, Asa?"

"I have been searching for you since you left Israel four years ago. Now I have found you."

"That wasn't my question."

"You remember what we had?" he asked, sitting in the chair, leaning forward at her.

"It never should have happened," Ziva said, trying to keep the memories of him out of her mind. "You were my mentor."

"And together we had much success. That is all I ask for now."

"What?"

"You come back to Israel. Rejoin Mossad. We can be partners again. We can-"

"No," Ziva said. "I am staying here."

"For what? NCIS? You actually like it there?"

Ziva saw the opportunity. "Yes. I want to stay for NCIS."

Asa saw right through her. His face darkened. "You found the father."

"Father?"

He reached forward and slapped her in the face. "You have a child. I am not stupid, Ziva. I know the father is American."

"Good for you," she replied, ignoring the blood dripping from her mouth. He had struck her quite hard.

"Come with me back to Israel. Leave the child here, with it's family."

He almost sounded as if he was pleading with her, yet he wasn't the type to beg.

"No."

He glared at her. "Fine. I have waited years for this. A few more hours will not hurt."

* * *

"You eat fast," Lucy said, watching her father with interest. Operation 'Staying at Daddy's House for the Night' was a success.

Now they were eating breakfast, waiting for Ziva to come and meet them.

Tony swallowed, remembering that he was probably setting a bad example for Lucy. "Eating fast is bad for you. Don't do it."

"But you were the one-"

"Exactly."

Lucy scrunched up her nose, confused. "When is Mummy getting here?"

"Seven o'clock."

"And what time is it now?"

Tony looked at his watch. "Nine o'clock." He froze. "0900? She's late. Actually, she's really late." He got up and walked around the kitchen, muttering to himself some more. It wasn't like Ziva to be two hours late.

"Can we go to NCIS now?" Lucy asked. "Mummy probably thought she would meet us there."

"Good point, kiddo," Tony said, ruffling her hair, ignoring her protests. _She probably changed her mind and thought that maybe you could handle the kid after all,_ he thought.

* * *

"I should mention, _ishti_, that I can use your phone to call the child's father."

"Asa, if you call me your wife or anything belonging to you again, I will cause you extreme pain," Ziva hissed. Throughout the night, she had resisted his offers and questions, and had sustained more injuries. Her left eye was swollen, her lip was split, and blood drops had fallen onto her clothes. "I am not yours. I never was your wife. I haven't had anything to do with you for years."

"That could change, Ziva," he said, kneeling in front of her and whispering into her ear. She flinched. "And I doubt you could hurt me. I taught you everything you know."

Ziva jerked her shoulder into his abdomen, causing him to stand up and strike her again.

"Nice try," he said. "But I would not do it again I was were you," he added, pulling out a gun and laying it on the table next to him.

* * *

"She's not here?" Tony said quietly to Gibbs. He had put Lucy down at Ziva's desk, surprised that the ninja wasn't there before them. "Have you heard from her?"

"No, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "I sent her to your place last night to see if you were alive. That's the last time I spoke to her."

Tony bit his lip. "Sorry, Boss, I should have called-"

"Don't apologize," Gibbs said. He got up and went over to McGee. "McGee, call her phone again."

"Boss, I already tried that. It's turned off-" Tony began, but Gibbs silenced him with a glare.

McGee dialled the number and put it on speakerphone.

"_Hello?"_

"Ziva, where are you?" Gibbs asked.

"_I…uh…_". They could hear a faint noise in the background. _"I am fine."_

Tony looked worriedly at Lucy, who was oblivious to the situation.

"Are you coming in soon?" Gibbs asked, watching McGee type furiously, trying to trace the call.

"_No, she isn't_," said another voice. Tony visibly stiffened at the sound. _"Ziva is a bit preoccupied at the moment."_

Before any of them could speak, they heard another noise, followed by Ziva's voice.

"_Gibbs, it's Asa._"

* * *

A/N Review!

Next chapter: The team get read for action, and more conversations (from now on, just expect them. Seriously. There are a lot of them.)


	21. Chapter 20

A/N So proud of myself. Finally downloaded 'Ice Queen' and 'Meltdown'.

*shudder* While I'm glad I've seen them, I'm still not sure whether I like them. Jury's still out for me.

Anyway, here is the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 20

Asa threw the phone to the ground before hitting Ziva again. "You told them!"

"You answered the phone. You held it to my mouth. You spoke into it yourself. It was only a matter of time before they figured it out themselves," Ziva hissed back. "They are probably on their way here now."

"And when they arrive, they will either find nobody here or your body laying across the floor," Asa said, picking up the gun and holding it to her chest.

Ziva laughed derisively. "Why not shoot me in the forehead? It's what you taught me to do." Her mind was screaming at her._ How can you be mocking him when you are about to die?! You have a daughter to get back to!_

"Ah, Ziva, vanity. I did always say you were beautiful. Why would I destroy that beauty with a hole between the eyes?" He leant forward again and kissed her on the lips, ignoring the blood that had now dried into a sticky layer around her mouth.

Ziva closed her eyes, praying that the team would find her soon.

That _Tony_ would find her soon.

* * *

"That bastard has her," Gibbs rumbled, the anger in his voice very obvious. "Did you get a trace, McGee?"

McGee was one step ahead of him. He passed Gibbs a piece of paper. "Address."

By now Abby had come down. After a hurried update from Tony, she had sat down next to Lucy, making sure that the little girl was alright. "You find her, Tony," she said as the team walked past, ready to go kick some Asa butt. "You two need to talk."

Tony didn't even think about what they could possibly need to talk about.

He had to save her.

He had to tell her.

* * *

Ziva could feel sweat beginning to bead on her forehead. It wasn't the first time a gun had been pointed at her, but it was still unnerving to still have it there fifteen minutes later.

"I will say it again, Ziva," Asa said, his patience running out. "We are going back to Israel. You will leave your child behind."

"No!" Ziva shouted. She didn't know why he just didn't pick her up, throw her in the car and drive her to the airport.

"Then you leave me no other option," he said. He pushed the gun further against her.

* * *

"McGee, take the back. I don't want him getting away," Gibbs ordered once they got out of the car. He and Tony headed inside.

After receiving strange looks from a very nervous looking receptionist, they headed upstairs.

Communicating with facial expressions and hand movements, they decided to split up; Gibbs took the south corridor and Tony took the north.

The whole time Tony was walking around, listening for sounds, he thought of Ziva.

He did love her. He knew that. But things were complicated. What if they were to date, only to break up? What would that do to Lucy?

He had just broken up with Anna. Things were still new. What kind of person would he be if he began dating not even a week after his engagement ended?

"_No!"_

Tony froze at the sound of her voice. He could hear muffled voices afterwards.

He moved toward the room that they were in.

* * *

A single tear rolled down Ziva's cheek, but she didn't dare take her eyes away from Asa. The man who was desperate to be with her. The man who was in love with her after all these years.

It couldn't be love though. It was more of an obsession.

Where was Gibbs? Where was Tony? Where was the team when she needed them most?

Asa brought the gun up and hit her over the head, causing her to slump forwards, unconscious.

Tony kicked the door in. Seeing Ziva on the floor, blood all around, he took one look around and aimed his gun at Asa, seeing just in time that there was a gun in Asa's hand, pointing at him.

BANG.

* * *

A/N Review!

Next chapter: THE conversation. Like the one you've all been waiting for. I think.


	22. Chapter 21

A/N Thanks for the reviews.

I really hope you guys like this chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 21

Gibbs heard the gunshot and ran to where it had come from. He saw that the door had been kicked open, and he could stared at the scene in front of him.

Asa Nouri was lying on the floor, a single gunshot wound in his thigh. He was bleeding out fast, but Gibbs had no desire to hurry and help him.

Seconds later, with one last gasp, Asa was dead.

Tony was kneeling on the floor, trying to wake Ziva up. "Ziva. _Ziva._ Come on, you have to wake up." He picked her up and held her, not caring that her blood was getting all over his clothes and face.

Gibbs pulled out his phone and rang for a medical team. "DiNozzo-"

"She's got a pulse," Tony murmured. He buried his face in Ziva's hair, ignoring the fact that Gibbs was seeing him openly breaking Rule 12.

He didn't care about much at that moment.

* * *

Gibbs shook Abby's shoulder, waking her from where she dozed, clutching a sleeping Lucy. "Abby."

"Gibbs! Is Ziva-"

"She's awake. She'll be fine," Gibbs said, passing her a Caf-Pow.

"Where did you get this? I already checked, they have no machines here."

Gibbs shrugged and walked over to Tony.

"Lucy," Abby said as Lucy woke up.

"What?"

"Go with Gibbs."

Lucy got up and ran over to where he stood.

* * *

Tony had been sitting by himself ever since they arrived at the hospital. Everyone seemed to understand that he needed space, but now Gibbs had come over and told him to go see Ziva.

Lucy came over and stood next to Gibbs. "Can we see Mummy now?" she asked.

"Your dad's going to see her first, then we'll all go in," Gibbs said, picking her up. "Alright?"

"Alright."

Tony cast one last look at Gibbs before heading off down the corridor.

* * *

Ziva pulled herself up into sitting position in her bed, jumping suddenly when she sensed that someone was at the door. "Hi, Tony."

Tony leant against the doorframe for a moment, just looking at her. One of her eyes was surrounded by a dark purple ring, a small cut ran along the side of her face, and her lip still looks slightly swollen. "You alright?"

She smiled. "I will be. Come here," she said, moving over so he could sit down on the side of her bed.

"So it's all over," he said. "Running away from Asa. You're safe now."

"Yeah. Yeah, I am," she said. "Tony, I need to tell you something. I-"

"I love you, Ziva."

He got in first. He had the upper hand. No matter what she said now, he could feel better now that he had told her.

"I love you too."

_So I did hear correctly the other day_, he thought. _She wants you too._

He smiled. "What do we do now?"

"Up to you, I think. "

He sighed. He didn't want to say this, but he had to. "Ziva, I can't do anything…relationship-wise. Not for a while. The whole thing with Anna…I know she's gone. I know she's not coming back. But I just-"

Ziva smiled weakly. "I know."

"And Lucy…what if something were to happen to us? She'd be right in the middle, I bet you. It wouldn't be fair. Not for anyone."

A tear rolled down Ziva's cheek. She understood completely, but it didn't stop the hurting that it caused. "We can just be friends. Lucy loves you, and I'm assuming that things went well when she stayed at your place."

"Yeah."

"So we can work on that. Parents being friends."

Tony smiled and leant forward, encircling her in his arms. She rested her chin on her shoulder, more tears falling, but this time, she knew she would be fine.

* * *

A/N Please review!

Just an epilogue to go. I really hope you guys like the way I've done this.

Message for my 'not blonde, but dumb' friend: You. So. Owe. Me.


	23. Epilogue

* * *

Epilogue

_Ten years later…_

"Lucy!" Ziva called. "Breakfast!"

"I'm coming!" came the reply.

"Lucy gonna be late for brekkie," sang six-year-old Prue from where she sat at the table. "She's gonna be later _again-_"

Tony covered her mouth with his hand. "Don't let her hear you say that, or she won't bring you to NCIS this afternoon."

Prue fell silent.

Ziva turned her attention back to five-year-old Amanda, who was now staring at the staircase, waiting for her eldest sister to come down. "Tony? What do you want for breakfast?"

"You would think," Lucy said, finally entering the kitchen, "that after eight years of marriage you would know what your husband would like for breakfast."

Ziva threw a tea-towel at her and turned back to the stove.

Tony crept up behind her and put his arms around her waist. "Aren't you glad we didn't stay 'just friends'?" he whispered into her ear.

A year after their agreement, both Tony and Ziva had caved and started dating. Another year went by, and they were married. Within three years, they had two more daughters, Prudence and Amanda.

"Absolutely," Ziva replied.

"We're here!" came a voice from the doorway. Abby appeared in the kitchen, and all three of the DiNozzo children ran and hugged her, completely ignoring McGee, who was behind her.

"Don't mind me," he muttered, side-stepping them.

"Don't take is personally, Probie," Tony said. "Abby is the favourite of everyone. She can't be beaten."

"Abby will leave right now if three girls don't come back to the table right now!" Ziva said loudly, and within seconds everyone was seated and eating.

Ziva raised her eyebrows. "Much better."

Once all the attention was back on breakfast, Tony kissed his wife. "I love you."

She smiled, her eyes sparkling in the light. "I love you too."

* * *

A/N Short, sappy...my kind of ending.

I really hope you've enjoyed this fic. I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I really appreciate them.

This is probably going to be my last fic for a while. I have to work on my NaNoWriMo novel, and after that, I'm not sure.

Until next time,

PJ


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